Abstract: Employee #1 and a coworker were installing 6 in. PVC sewer pipe in an unshored trench that was 2 ft wide and approximately 8 ft deep. The trench walls were vertical with insufficient benching. The soil was damp due to recent rains. Employee #1 and the coworker, the two lead men, noticed water and soil entering the trench at the bottom of the wall. They were going to backfill a layer of stone on the pipe that they had already installed. The coworker moved away, down the trench, expecting Employee #1 to follow. For an unknown reason, Employee #1 did not follow. The trench wall caved in on him and he was buried. The accident could have been avoided if OSHA standards had been followed. Employee #1 should have moved out of the area when he was informed that the trench was to be backfilled with stone because water was entering it.