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SUBJECT: 29-Year Old Male Hispanic Landscape Laborer Dies When
Nine Foot Deep Trench Collapses

Summary ( See Attached PDF for Full Report )

On February 1, 2006, a 29-year old male Hispanic landscape laborer died when the two-foot wide, sixteen-foot long and nine-foot deep trench he was working in collapsed and covered him with soil. The victim and four other laborers had been hand digging the trench over a two- day period at a private residence. The victim was kneeling to inspect a broken drain pipe at the bottom of the east end of the trench. At approximately 3:00 p.m., a laborer on top of the trench saw a crack in the soil and yelled to the victim. The wall collapsed and the victim was completely covered with soil in seconds. Three laborers along with the company owner who was checking on the job began frantically hand digging to reach the victim. The fourth laborer remained above and outside of the trench. The owner stopped digging after a couple of minutes to call 911 with his cellular telephone. All four men (three laborers and company owner) continued to hand dig until the local fire and police departments arrived on the scene. Fire and police personnel continued hand digging. The victim’s head was uncovered approximately 45 minutes after the trench collapse. Emergency personnel on the scene checked for vital signs. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Figure 1. Photograph of trench after cave in.