MAY 4, 2015
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, NJ
A worker running a drainage line around the foundation of a
home under construction in the Somerset section of Franklin Township died Monday
afternoon when he was buried in an eight-foot deep trench, said East Franklin
Fire Chief Dan Krushinski said.
The 43-year-old worker from Salisbury, Md. died at the
scene. His name is being withheld by authorities pending the notification of
the next of kin, Krushinski said.
Workers attempted to rescue the man from the 3½ foot wide by
eight foot deep trench, officials said. When they failed, they called 911.
The East Franklin Fire Department responded to a rescue call
at 14 Neuville Drive at 3:57 p.m., Krushinski said. Upon arrival, firefighters
and rescue personnel discovered the victim buried in dirt, he said.
The rescue started at 4:11 p.m. and the victim was
extricated at 5:43 p.m., Krushinski said. He was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m.
by medics from Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick, Krushinski said.
"He was in the ground working outside the foundation of
the home and the dirt fell on top of him," Krushinski said. "He was
completely covered up in dirt. There were five workers on the scene but we
don't know how long he was buried under the dirt before the other workers saw
him."
"We had to take our time to build the shoring to
extricate him. The rescue team had to build a wall around him to begin the
rescue. They wanted to remove him safety."
The victim worked for Adonai Contracting LLC in Plainfield.
The company was building a trench to house the home's utilities. A man answered
the phone at the business but quickly hung up when a reporter from NJ Advance
Media identified himself.
"No comment," he said.
The owner of the home was on the scene but declined to
comment.
Firefighters from Community Fire Department and the New
Brunswick Fire Department as well as the Somerset Fire Rescue joined the East
Franklin Fire Department at the scene.
On Oct. 1, 2014, two
landscapers Bednar Landscape Services trapped under 10 feet of soil in a
drainage trench outside a home in Boonton also died.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and
Health Administration found that Bednar was responsible for one willful safety
violation and nine serious safety violations. The company was
facing up to $77,000 in fines.
Source: http://www.nj.com