Abstract: At 10:30 a.m. on October 17, 2022, employees were repairing a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) 8-inch sewer lateral pipe that was approximately 8 feet below grade in the middle of a public city street. On October 14, the employees had excavated the trench to expose the sewer lateral and install shoring. A supervisor was onsite for a portion of the shift when rented equipment and material for the support system was delivered. The rented equipment and material consisted of ten, 5-foot aluminum hydraulic shores with 17-27-inch hydraulic cylinders; eight sheets of 48-inch by 72-inch by 1 1/8-inch plywood sheeting; and five, 5-foot by 10-foot steel plates. On October 17, the employees continued to excavate the trench and were installing the rented shoring while inside of the trench. Employee #1 was on the east face of the excavation and Employee #2 was on the west face of the excavation, each holding plywood sheeting in place, while a coworker outside the trench was getting ready to lower in an aluminum hydraulic shore when the east face of the trench collapsed. Employee #1 was knocked unconscious, engulfed up to his waist in soil, and bleeding from his head with the plywood sheeting pressed against his head. Employee #2 was pushed back by the soil and experienced pain in his chest but was free. The coworker outside of the trench got inside the trench with Employee #2 and tried to dig employee #1 out by hand but were unsuccessful. Emergency Medical Services were contacted and began to rescue Employee #1. Employee #1 was excavated out of the trench, transported to a local medical center, evaluated by a neurosurgical consultant, and deemed to have an un-survivable injury. Employee #1 was declared brain dead on October 18, 2022 at 18:05 hours.