21-year-old window washer falls, dies

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or MIOSHA, is investigating what went wrong when a 21-year-old window washer died after falling about 45 feet from the Grand Rapids Art Museum.

Tyler Cotter graduated from Creston High School. He had a girlfriend and 1-month-old daughter.

The incident occurred at around 3 p.m. Cotter was working for Award Window Cleaning Services, Inc. He was working with a partner, who was not injured.

Although MIOSHA will handle the official investigation, a former Award Window Cleaning employee has a theory.

"There was not enough weight on the rig and when he went off the building, it just came down on top of him," he said.

There were four citations against Award Window Cleaning at their last inspection in 2007:

* Not providing employee training on the safe use of an aerial lift device.
* Lift controls were not tested each day before use.
* Exceeding the design / rated capacity for the given height of a vehicle
* Company did not properly record injury numbers and illness numbers on annual log

In 2007 while working at Van Andel Arena, a worker over-extended the arm of an aerial lift device, causing two workers to be injured. The citations were issued as a result of that accident, but no one died.

"It's pretty traumatic," said Todd Schrewe, who witnessed Cotter's fall. "I mean, you're out here to have a good time, and he's out here to do a job and something tragic like this happens. My wife and I are a little unsettled about it.

"He's a young guy and he deserves better than this."

Award Winning Cleaning has not commented.