Abstract: Employee #1 and a coworker were connecting 13 ft sections of 10 in. wide sewer pipe in an approximately 12 ft deep excavation. The trench, which was protected by a steel trench box, had about 10 in. of standing water in the bottom of it. According to coworkers, the trench box was sinking below the surface of the ground because of the water and, as a result, the ground around the top edge of the trench box was beginning to collapse inside. Meanwhile, wet dirt was coming into the excavation from underneath the trench box, which only extended to a depth of 8 ft. A coworker yelled at Employee #1 to look out for the falling dirt. This caused him to run into the 42 in. wide shovel of a track excavator that was digging in the trench. The excavator was lifting a shovelful of dirt when Employee #1 ran into the scoop and became pinned against the south wall of the trench box. He suffered massive internal injuries and was killed.