Father Witnessed His Son Be ‘Fully Buried’ in Fatal Trench Collapse at Work: ‘It Was So Unexpected’

A trench collapse in southwest Ohio left one worker dead and two others injured — and, according to a relative, forced a father to witness the aftermath of his son’s death.

On Friday, Dec. 5, first responders were dispatched to 1187 Valley Forge Drive in Miami Township after reports of a trapped worker, according to Miami Township Fire and EMS. When crews arrived, they found two people in a trench, both “buried up to their abdomens.”

A third person, who was not trapped, was using a shovel to clear soil and told responders that another victim was “fully buried” beneath the collapse.

Rescue teams stabilized the area and requested support from additional agencies before pulling two workers from the trench. Both were taken to a nearby medical center. A third worker was later recovered but died from injuries sustained in the collapse, officials said.

In total, the rescue effort took about six hours, ABC affiliate WCPO reported.

“The trench was approximately 12 feet deep with unstable soil everywhere,” Hamilton County Urban Search & Rescue Team wrote in a post about the rescue. The team added that two secondary collapses occurred in parts of the trench where crews were not actively working, calling the operation a difficult one with “a lot of lessons learned.”

Claudia Ramirez later identified the man who died as her cousin, Jose Alberto Barajas, WCPO reported.

“We didn’t know how to process it because it was so unexpected,” Ramirez told the outlet.

Fire officials said the workers were believed to be contractors installing water control piping. They also said standard safety systems typically required for this kind of work were missing.

“Standard trench safety systems, which are normally required and expected for this type of work, were not in place,” the fire department said.

Barajas’s relatives told WCPO they don’t know why those protections weren’t used. Ramirez said Barajas had moved from Mexico to the U.S. on a work visa two years ago, chasing a goal he’d held for years.

“He’s always wanted to live his dream to be in the United States with his dad and work and provide for his family back home,” she told WCPO. Ramirez said Barajas was working alongside his father when the trench collapsed. The father was among the two workers rescued, according to the report.

“Just the fact that my uncle had to see his son taken away like that, it all kind of just hit us,” Ramirez said.

As of Monday, Dec. 8, fire officials said both survivors were alive and receiving care. Representatives from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) were also on scene to begin an investigation.

Local officials are conducting their own investigation as well, and outlets including FOX affiliate WXIX and CBS affiliate WKRC reported that authorities are considering charges such as reckless homicide and negligent assault. WKRC noted that for trenches five feet or deeper in the type of soil reported at the scene, OSHA generally requires a protective system — such as a trench box — unless a “competent person” determines it isn’t necessary. According to the outlet, those preventative measures were not used on Dec. 5.

Miami Township Chief Robert Hirsch told WKRC that investigators are focused on what work was assigned and whether it was carried out safely.

“Well, we’re just looking at specifically the elements of what those construction workers were asked to complete that night,” Hirsch said. “And, at this point, obviously, one person is dead, and two others were injured. So again, working hand in hand with those other agencies, we’re going to make a determination if there was criminal culpability.”

A spokesperson for the Miami Township Police Department confirmed to a publication that the investigation remains ongoing. The Clermont County Coroner, Barajas’ family, and OSHA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

After Barajas’s death, a family member started a GoFundMe to help cover funeral expenses.

“Whatever you can donate from the heart,” the organizer wrote in Spanish, “may God multiply it.”