Abstract: At approximately 2:10 p.m. on October 1, 2003, Employee #1, the company president, and a coworker were installing water and sewer services to a house which the company had relocated approximately one year prior to this accident. The coworker, who was also the backhoe operator, excavated a trench between the house and the inside of a sidewalk located at the street edge. The trench had an average depth of approximately 6 ft, with vertical walls and the excavated soil was placed at the trench edges. Trench width was approximately 30 in., equivalent to one bucket wide. Employee #1 entered the trench at the sidewalk or street side, and commenced hand digging to locate the existing water and sewer lines at the locate marks. Employee #1 was unsuccessful in locating the lines and stepped back in the trench so the backhoe could clear away more soil. This procedure went on approximately four times. As the Employee #1 stepped back in the trench for the final time, the trench wall collapsed, pinning him against the opposite trench wall, and crushing him. Employee #1 was removed from the cave-in site and taken to the hospital but died later that day. Neither employee had any formal trenching or excavation training.