Abstract: Employee #1 and two other employees were assigned to install an outside sewer line at a single family dwelling. A trench was started at the side of the house and made two 45 degree turns to bring it perpendicular to the street pipe. The backhoe operator was digging a trench that was 10 ft deep by 2 ft wide at the bottom and 3 ft wide at the top in a straight line towards the street. Employee #1 was told to stand near the end of the recently installed pipe while the rest of the trench was dug. The backhoe operator dug about 16 ft when he stated he didn't like the soil's consistency on the north side of the trench and started shaving the side of the trench when Employee #1 started approaching the backhoe. The operator saw the north wall start to cave in and yelled for Employee #1 to run, Employee #1 running to the backhoe turned around and was buried under 3 to 4 ft of soil and died at the scene of severe head trauma.