Nicholas Marks, East Weymouth, Mass father of two and window cleaner falls to his death outside of Boston skyscraper at 100 Summer St.
A window washer and father of two was killed after plummeting several stories to his death outside a Boston office building on Monday, police said.
Nicholas Marks, 40, of East Weymouth, fell to his death while working on 100 Summer Street just before 8 a.m. Monday, Boston 25 News reported.
He fell an ‘unknown number of stories’ outside the 32-story Financial District building, police told the outlet.
BREAKING: @bostonpolice are on scene at 100 Summer St. They say a person died after falling “an unknown number of stories” just before 8 AM.
A viewer tells me it appears a window washer fell. @boston25 pic.twitter.com/4SpX93QiCz
— Julianne Lima (@JulianneLimaTV) October 23, 2023
Were OSHA safety standards being followed?
‘I’ve known him for 18 years,’ said Gerardo Ortiz, a fellow window washer and friend of the victim.
‘We wake up every morning to go to work and we don’t know what’s going to happen that day,’ he added.
‘[He had] two beautiful children and he’s going to be missed greatly,’ another coworker told Boston 25.
‘Great person… great person. That’s it. That’s all I got to say.’
Following the fall, 100 Summer Street was surrounded by yellow police tape, as well as law enforcement cruisers and investigators who circled the scene.
A shoe, a broken piece of plastic safety equipment, and Marks’ Bosun chair were reportedly recovered not far from his body.
According to Ortiz – who works for a different company than the victim – window washers typically rely on multiple safety ropes so, in case one fails, they can hang on until assistance arrives.
‘You follow all the safety procedures and nothing will happen,’ he explained.
‘You never know what could have happened. The equipment failed. It’s a lot of weight on the ropes.’
Marks may have been employed by Sky Safety, Inc., a window washing firm located outside Boston, Boston 25 News reported.
It remained unclear if the worker was following all the necessary safety guides as per his employer and state mandates.
There have been 11 fatal window washer incidents in Boston over the last five years, Boston 25.
‘Our deepest sympathies go out to Mr. Marks’s family and friends at this tragic time,’ Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said of Marks’ death.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has reportedly been informed of the incident. Investigators are expected in the coming weeks to release how the worker and dad of two fell to his death.
