Friday, August 19, 2005

Contractor dies as trench collapses

By Eric Lacy / The Detroit News

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DETROIT -- A 24-year-old man died Friday after he was trapped underground for hours when a trench collapsed on him and his father Friday. The father was listed in temporary serious condition Friday night at Henry Ford Hospital.

The men were working as independent contractors doing sewer work in a narrow alley when the dirt caved in on top of them. They were working on the north side of McGraw between Cabot and Addison in Detroit.

The Detroit Fire Department got a 911 call about the trapped men about 12:07 p.m., said Kwaku Atara, spokesman for the Detroit Fire Department. Rescue workers arrived and removed the older man just before 2 p.m. and transported him to the hospital. The man was conscious.

The son, buried up to his chest, was pulled from the trench about 7 p.m. He was taken to Henry Ford Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Authorities have yet to release the names of the two men.

Rescuers from Detroit, Southfield and Pontiac used wooden planks to shore up the sides of the ditch to prevent further collapse and to attempt to safely remove the man.

The two men were hired by the owner of a home on Addison, located next to the alley.

Dolores Skomra, a spokeswoman for Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, said the work being done at the site would have required a permit, but the department doesn't have a record that one was requested.

Regina Towsend, 47, who has been renting the home for 12 years, said the father and his four sons were repairing a broken sewer line. The crew had been at the site since 7 a.m. and was filling up the 10-foot deep trench when one of the sons ran to her door and asked her to call 911.

The family crew regularly does maintenance work at the home, Towsend said.

"I just hope everything is OK with the family," she said.

You can reach Eric Lacy at (734) 462-2674 or elacy@detnews.com. Staff Writer Catherine Jun contributed to this report.