|
Leland Fielding, his brother Timothy, and two of their
friends were playing in an open gas-pipe trench excavation when the sides of
the trench collapsed on them. Timothy
and two of the boys managed to free themselves, but Leland remained trapped by
the dirt. He died while his mother and
brother tried to free him from the trench.
We investigated this accident and determined that the trench
was in a public right-of-way. It was not
properly shored or protected in any way to prevent a collapse. No precautions were taken to keep pedestrians
from entering the site – including children walking from neighboring residences
to their local school. No alternate
travel path was provided for pedestrians.
Children were known to play in the construction zone. Cars and construction vehicles were allowed
to travel adjacent to the trench in such a manner that they could precipitate a
collapse. And the trench was not
protected to prevent entry into it.
|
