UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

At 2:00 p.m. on January 25, 2018, an employee was working for a telecommunicatio ns firm that provided both wired and wireless service. He was preparing to bore underneath a road to run cable from a customer's house to a pedestal across the road. The employee was working alone. He was using the drilling attachment of a Model 410sx Ditch Witch trencher, with an approximate 22-millimeter (0.875-inch) auger tip and at least three 3.0-meter (10-foot) bore rods. The employee approa ched the machine's auger tip while the engine was engaged. As he bent down, his jacket got caught in the auger tip. The drilling attachment had 1017 newton-mete rs (750 pound-feet) of torque. It had an operating speed of 185 to 240 rpm. The employee was pulled into the auger tip and subsequently the boring rod. He susta ined crushing injuries as a result. Emergency medical service providers responde d. They used a hydraulic rescue tool (the jaws of life) to cut him free from the machine and performed CPR at the scene. The employee was transported to a hospi tal, where he died from his injuries.