Plumber Gets Probation in Trench Collapse that Killed Worker
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A Pennsylvania plumber who pleaded guilty to violating federal workplace regulations before a trench collapse that killed a man has been placed on probation for two years.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that 67-year-old Wayne George, of Hookstown, apologized in court Wednesday, saying he wishes he could have traded places with the worker who died.
Twenty-one-year-old Jacob Casher was helping install a sewer line when an 11-foot-deep trench collapsed in September 2015, killing him.
George said he ran into an unexpected conduit and stopped work, intending to bring cave-in protection equipment the next day, but Casher had climbed down into the trench without his knowledge.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Cynthia Reed Eddy cited his remorse, poor health and an $87,000 fine in sparing him jail time.
Related News
From Archive
- Fatal trench collapse halts sewer construction in Massachusetts; two workers hospitalized
- Alaska LNG pipeline could require 7,000 workers at peak construction, developers say
- Ohio trench collapse kills one worker, injures two during pipe installation
- Elon Musk's Boring Co. fined for dumping drilling waste into Vegas sewer system
- $1.4 billion Midwest pipeline expansion to move more Canadian oil to U.S. Gulf
- Glenfarne Alaska LNG targets late-2026 construction start for 807-mile pipeline project
- Fatal trench collapse halts sewer construction in Massachusetts; two workers hospitalized
- Massive water line failure leaves majority of Waterbury without service
- Infrastructure failure releases 100,000 gallons of wastewater in Houston; repairs ongoing
- Pennsylvania American Water launches interactive map to identify, replace lead water service lines

Comments