Abstract: Employee #1 was in a 35 ft long by 24 in. wide trench with a top paved surface of 7 in. thick asphalt. He was checking the grade fall at the bottom, about 10 ft below the driveway level, when the side walls of the trench caved in, covering him with damp dirt to approximately 1 ft over his head. Coworkers on site called the rescue squad and then started to dig him out, a process that took approximately 3 1/2 hours. After being removed from the trench, Employee #1 was transported to the emergency room at Granger Hospital, where he was admitted with a fractured knee. The trench was being used to install a 12 ft storm drain to an internal sewer drain at the southeast corner of a building under construction.