Abstract: At approximately 9:30 a.m. on April 3, 2003, Employee #1 was making a joint connection at the south end of an excavation. A 6-in. sewer line was being installed along the west side of an industrial park access road. The depth of the pipe ranged from 5.25 ft to 8.65 ft below grade. The excavation was opened to a width of 5 ft and extended 90 ft in a north-south direction along the west side of the road. The spoils were placed directly on the edge of the excavation so as to not block the road. The walls were not sloped and no shoring was being used. The east wall collapsed and buried Employee #1. The other employees called emergency medical technicians and started to dig Employee #1 out. When the emergency medical technicians arrived, Employee #1 was extricated from the excavation and pronounced dead at the scene.