Abstract: At approximately 12:35 p.m. on June 11, 2007, Employee #1, a 22-year-old laborer, was working for a sanitation employer at a residential construction job site. Employee #1 was spotting for a backhoe operator, who was using a Case 580 backhoe to dig an excavation in Type "C" soil for the placement of a 3,000 gallon septic tank. As the excavation was being dug, the ground gave way. Employee #1 was carried by the sliding soil into a 10-foot deep pit, where he was buried under sandy soil. The backhoe operator jumped into the pit to remove soil from Employee #1's head, face, and chest, but was unable to do so. Emergency services were called, and the local fire department responded and attempted a successful rescue that took approximately four hours. Employee #1 was taken to Canyon Springs Medical Center in Murrieta, California, where he was given emergency medical care. After he was stabilized, Employee #1 was transferred to the Palomar Hospital Trauma Center in Escondido, California, where he remained in critical condition having suffered pulmonary contusions, rib fractures, spleen lacerations, and fractures to his lower spine. Employee #1 died four days later.