Abstract: At approximately 2:10 p.m. on March 11, 1999, Employees #1 and #2 and two coworkers, of the Spencer (NC) Water and Sewer Department, were mapping sewer lines near South Salisbury Avenue and 7th Street. The two coworkers each took a truck to check a manhole on 7th Street, leaving Employees #1 and #2 on South Salisbury. Employee #1 opened a manhole cover while Employee #2 directed traffic. As Employee #1 was kneeling on the south side of the manhole, holding up the manhole cover, and looking down into the opening, Employee #2 was on the north side of the hole turned sideways and facing east. An automobile traveling south on South Salisbury Avenue struck Employee #2 and knocked him down west of the manhole. The car then struck Employee #1, knocking him into the air and further south of the manhole. Both employees sustained injuries and were taken to Rowan Regional Medical Center. Employee #1 was later transported to North Carolina Baptist Hospital, where he died at 11:02 p.m. on March 13, 1999. Employee #2 suffered a fractured leg and was released from Rowan Regional Medical Center that same day.