Abstract: At 6:00 a.m. on July 25, 1991, Employee #1 was assigned by his superintendent to find a damaged PVC conduit. The superintendent then left for another job site. Employee #1 dug an approximately 6 ft deep trench and at around 8:00 a.m. telephoned his superintendent to tell him that he had found the conduit and would look further for the damaged section. Sometime before 12:15 p.m., the trench walls caved in and buried Employee #1. He was found dead, lying in the trench with his face and chest down with his feet sticking out of the dirt. The trench walls were wet and were not shored, sloped, benched, or otherwise protected. The employer was cited for a serious violation of T8CCR 1540(d).