‘Tragic accident’: Window washer falls to his death inside Boston’s JFK Library

BOSTON — An investigation is underway after a window washer fell to his death inside the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston on Wednesday morning.

The worker was about 5 to 7 stories high when he suffered the fall, according to Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden. His name has not been released.

“It does, at the end of the day, appear to be a tragic accident,” Hayden said during a news conference.

Crews first responded to the report of a fallen worker at the library at Columbia Point just after 10:30 a.m.

Police roped off the area and a number of emergency vehicles were spotted at the scene.

The worker had been onsite pressure washing the building this week, but due to the inclement weather, he and his team had moved inside to clean the pavilion windows, according to the library.

In a statement, the library said, “We are profoundly saddened by the death of a contractor who was washing windows in our facility earlier today. We offer our deepest condolences to his loved ones and colleagues...This is a shocking and tragic event and I extend my deepest sorrow to his family and the JFK Library family.”

Jay Wilson, a tourist was Madison Wisconsin was hoping to visit the museum when he was turned away at the doors.

“We thought this would be a pretty good stop and we came here and there weren’t many cars in the parking lot which confused us a little bit. So we walked up to the doors. They were all locked and a Boston police officer told us it was an industrial accident they’re going to be closed the rest of the day,’ said Wilson. “Boy when you hear what it is, it’s unbelievable tragic, and you feel awful.”

The national memorial to President John F. Kennedy sits on a 10-acre waterfront site, offering panoramic views of Boston’s skyline and Harbor Islands.

The library has 22 permanent exhibits that cover President Kennedy’s life from his boyhood to assassination in 1963.

It opened in 1979 with a dedication from President Jimmy Carter.

Boston police, the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office, and OSHA are leading the investigation.

Boston 25 reached out to Gaeta Window Cleaning, the deceased’s employer but did not receive a response.

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