CRAWFORD COUNTY : OSHA to analyze collapse of trench
Posted on Tuesday, July 1, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/230215/
VAN BUREN — A federal investigator is in Crawford County looking into the trench collapse that killed one worker and injured another last week, according to the Crawford County sheriff’s office.
Richard Nelson Hardgraves, 48, of Johnson County died Friday when part of the 10-foot trench collapsed on him, sheriff’s deputy Cpl. Aaron Beshears said in a news release.
Reginald Campbell from the Little Rock office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration arrived Friday afternoon to begin an investigation, the release states.
Hardgraves’ body was recovered from the trench about 10: 15 p. m. Friday, nearly 10 hours after the collapse.
Beshears said no autopsy was performed on Hardgraves, but a blood sample was taken for testing in an attempt to determine how he died.
A co-worker, Tony Webb, whose age and address were unavailable, was injured when he jumped into the trench to try to rescue Hardgraves, the news release states. It took rescue crews about three hours to free Webb.
The two men worked for Kirby Specialties of Russellville, which was installing a sewer line in the area of Shibley and Hilltop roads east of Van Buren.
Beshears said Friday that a ruptured water main filled the ditch with water and contributed to the collapse. Excavation equipment also contributed to the collapse, and vibrations from generators and trains passing nearby further weakened the trench walls.
Elizabeth Todd with the Department of Labor office in Dallas confirmed Monday that an investigation has begun into the trench collapse but said no information about the investigation could be released until it is completed. The investigation must be finished within six months, she said.