Abstract: On April 5, 2005, the Southern Wesleyan University maintenance department received a report of a pothole on Thomas Lane, and went to set up barricades to keep traffic off the road. Later in the day, a report was received that a car was seen riding on the road that had been barricaded. Three employees were sent to replace the barricades and upon completion of the task, a discussion ensued regarding the cause of the four-foot sinkhole. Employee #1 walked over to investigate the hole, stepped into it, and fell approximately twenty-five feet to the bottom. He stood up and called out that he was okay, then began coughing and fell over. There was apparently methane gas present in the hole and he died of asphyxia.