OSHA investigating Lehigh County trench collapse that buried worker

A worker was injured and buried when a portion of a 100-yard trench collapsed May 12, 2023, at a construction site in the 2600 block of Lehigh Street in Whitehall Township, authorities said.Mike Nester | lehighvalleylive.com contributor

Authorities are investigating a trench collapse last week at a Lehigh County construction site that left a worker buried alive before workers rescued him.

First responders were called at 9:30 a.m. Friday for a person buried in a 100-yard trench in the 2600 block of Lehigh Street in Whitehall Township, Whitehall Deputy Fire Marshal Mark Bilder said.

The trench was 12 feet wide and about 12 feet deep, and a portion of it collapsed, Bilder said. A worker was buried under the dirt and "the only thing they could see was his hair," Bilder said.

People working at the other end of the trench were able to run down and dig out the man before rescue crews arrived, the deputy fire marshal said.

The man had an injured leg, and emergency personnel had to pull him out of the trench using a rope system and a basket, which took about 30 minutes, Bilder said.

The injured worker was taken to a nearby hospital by ambulance for treatment.

The site was not stable and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration shut down the work site until it could be made safe, Bilder said.

OSHA is investigating the incident and has six months to complete the investigation, said Joanna Hawkins, deputy regional director of the U.S. Department of Labor's Philadelphia Office of Public Affairs.

The employer is Environmental Geosynthetics Inc. in Coopersburg, which has no prior OSHA inspection history, Hawkins said.

A man who answered the phone at Environmental Geosynthetics Thursday declined to comment or take a message from a lehighvalleylive.com reporter.

A worker was injured and buried when a portion of a 100-yard trench collapsed May 12, 2023, at a construction site in the 2600 block of Lehigh Street in Whitehall Township, authorities said.Mike Nester | lehighvalleylive.com contributor

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at [email protected].

If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation.