Abstract: At approximately 3:00 p.m. on October 4, 1987, Employee #1 and a coworker, both welders, were welding two sections of 42 inch steel casing together in a 35 feet long, 12 to 28 feet wide and 15 feet deep trench running perpendicular to the road. It was vertical at both ends, and the sides were inadequately sloped in soft and unstable soil that had been previously disturbed. The employees apparently did not realize how hazardous the trench was even after the west wall had caved in on September 25, 1987. The road face of the trench (boring pit) caved in. Employee #1 sustained multiple fractures and died of asphyxia. The weather was clear and warm. This information was obtained from the medical examiner's report, police report, and witnesses.