Abstract: At approximately 9:30 a.m. on January 18, 1995, Employee #1 was at the south end of a #2 fuel oil auxiliary tank excavation. The excavation measured 17 feet wide by 35 feet long by 6 feet deep. He was shoveling soil from around a product line that came from a building adjacent to the excavation. His back was toward the excavation as he worked. When Employee #1 got within approximately 2 feet of the excavation, the soil shifted, and he lost his balance. He fell across a storm drain pipe that ran across the excavation's south end. When he fell into the excavation, his right leg went between the south side of the excavation and the pipe, and he severely twisted his right knee. Employee #1 apparently overlooked how close he was to the excavation as he worked backward toward it.