Abstract: On May 16, 2003, Employee #1 and a coworker were in a trench working on the expansion of a residential subdivision sanitary sewer system. The trench was being dug in a previously disturbed soil, which was classified as "B" soil. On one wall of the trench were two truck loads of sand used for backfill. The trench was approximately 10 ft deep, 4 ft wide, and 80 ft long, and was not sloped, shored, or provided with a protective system. After the employer observed employees in this trench, he departed to get more materials, leaving a competent person in control of the trench project. While Employee #1 and the coworker in the trench were digging by hand, the competent person was operating an excavator. Two other coworkers were standing on a trench wall when it collapsed on Employee #1 and the coworker in the trench, engulfing the two workers that were in the trench over their heads. The coworker was removed from the trench by emergency responders and transported to the hospital where he was later released with minor injuries. Employee #1 was removed from the trench unresponsive, and then pronounced dead at the hospital.