Deadly December: 3 Die in Trench Collapses in Alabama, Tennessee, Ohio
Three workers were also injured, including the father of one of the victims who was buried up to his abdomen while his son was...
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Three separate trench collapses this month killed three workers in Alabama, Tennessee and Ohio. A total of three workers were injured in two of the incidents.
1 Dead; His Father, 1 Other Injured in Trench
Rescuers got the call in the afternoon December 5 that three workers were trapped in a trench in Miami Township, Ohio.
When responders from Miami Township Fire & EMS arrived they found two workers buried up to their abdomens in a 12-foot-deep trench. A worker was using a shovel to dig out the workers and said another worker was buried, the department reported.
“Standard trench safety systems, which are normally required and expected for this type of work, were not in place.”
The workers were installing water lines when the collapse occurred. Two secondary collapses ensued while rescuers worked, according to Hamilton County Urban Search & Rescue Region 6.
The two men buried to their abdomens were rescued and taken to the hospital for treatment.
The body of Jose Alberto Barajas Martinez, 27, was recovered about eight hours later. Martinez’s father was injured in the collapse, according to a GoFundMe page to help the family pay for funeral expenses.
The rescue operation at the Miami Township trench collapse took eight hours due to the unstable soil conditions, two secondary collapses and the cold.Hamilton County Urban Search & Rescue Region 6 leadership and Michael Pierce
1 Dead, 1 Critically Injured
One worker died and another was critically injured on a job December 11 in Big Ridge State Park in Maynardville, Tennessee.
According to news reports, Norris Brothers Excavating LLC of Crossville was working on a sewer project in the park when the collapse occurred at about 8 a.m. When rescuers arrived, one worker was found buried to his waist, while another worker was completely buried.
The injured worker was rescued at about 1:30 p.m. and airlifted to a hospital. The body of Donnie Lee Stone, 35, was recovered at about 6 p.m.
Stone, of Crossville, worked for more than 10 years at Norris Brothers, according to his obituary.
According to OSHA records, Norris Brothers has received trench citations in the past.
The company was fined $74,800 in 2023 for one willful and four repeat violations, including inadequate cave-in protection and lack of employee safety training and safety inspections of the trench.
The company was also fined $8,600 in 2022 for four serious violations, including inadequate cave-in protection and lack of employee safety training.
1 Dead in Alabama Cave-in
A 45-year-old worker died in a trench collapse December 15 in Huntsville, Alabama.
Enrique Chub-Cao was reportedly buried in the cave-in at about 2:30 p.m. while working on a drainage project for a new neighborhood.
No further details about the incident have been revealed.
