Colorado Company Fined $31K for Fatal Trench Collapse
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined an excavation company for the deaths of two Colorado workers who were trapped for hours in a collapsed trench.
The Fort Collins Coloradoan reported Friday that Firestone-based Backhoe Excavating was fined $31,446 for five citations. The largest fine was more than $13,000 for failing to provide an adequate protective system for the workers, 26-year-old Cristopher Ramirez, of Boulder, and 41-year-old Jorge Valadez, of Denver.
The company also received two citations totaling more than $10,000 for not following specific excavation requirements.
The workers were installing sewer pipe in a 15-foot-deep (4.5-meter-deep) trench in Windsor on April 16 when it gave way. They were dead when emergency crews reached them.
Crews had used a PVC pipe to communicate with one of the men during the rescue effort.
From Archive
- U.S. water reuse boom to fuel $47 billion in infrastructure spending through 2035
- Major water pipe break in Puerto Rico hits over 165,000 customers
- Potomac River Tunnel project enters construction phase beneath Washington, D.C.
- U.S. Army Corps approves Enbridge's $500 million Line 5 Tunnel project
- Mexico accelerates $6.7 billion water infrastructure plan amid U.S. water disputes
- Glenfarne Alaska LNG targets late-2026 construction start for 807-mile pipeline project
- Pennsylvania American Water launches interactive map to identify, replace lead water service lines
- Trump's tariffs drive $33 million cost increase for Cincinnati sewer project
- CASE Launches New Equipment Configurator At CaseCE.com
- Utah city launches historic $70 million tunnel project using box jacking under active rail line
Comments