Abstract: Employee #1, a laborer, was in a trench that was 24 in. wide, 8 ft long, and 5 ft deep, checking leaks in the lateral line connections of a PVC sewer pipe. The pipes were being buried by a John Deere 500C front end loader/backhoe. The backhoe operator was backfilling a series of three lateral trenches and was not aware that Employee #1 had entered the last trench. Approximately 25 minutes later, when the employee could not be located, the last trench was reopened with a backhoe. On the second scoop of the bucket, Employee #1 was decapitated. The cause of death was listed as suffocation with subsequent decapitation.