Seattle park restoration complete after destructive rampage with stolen excavator

SEATTLE — Crews from the Seattle Parks and Recreation have repaired an area of Dr. Jose Rizal Park that was torn up by a man who ripped out part of the hillside with an excavator.

Police arrested the driver of the excavator, Steven Michael Irwin, 41, of Seattle.

According to charging documents, Irwin was driving a stolen excavator and had drugs on him.

“There was significant damage to the underbrush, vegetation, and fencing pieces where the suspect drove it from the street into the valley, and Irwin told me he got permission from the construction workers to use the excavator to build a new home,” a Seattle police officer wrote in a report.

Irwin was charged with property destruction and possessing auto theft tools by the Seattle City Attorney’s Office.

This week, neighbors reported Seattle Parks and Recreation crews spent several days placing new mulch in the area that was destroyed, as well as planting new vegetation.

“Parks and recreation came up and did a total rehab of the area that had been so badly affected,” said Craig Thompson, a volunteer park steward with Green Seattle. “Now that it’s been replanted it shows that people care about it. That’s part of the struggle, to be able to have a presence that’s positive. So that people know people care about this area, they care about the park, they care about the woods, and they care about the city.”