A man died Wednesday afternoon when a trench collapsed at a southwest Houston apartment complex.
The collapse happened just before 2 p.m. at the Stoneriver Apartments at 8901 Bissonnet Street.
'COULD HAVE ABSOLUTELY BEEN PREVENTED' | A longtime OSHA safety expert reviewed these photos and pointed out several concerns about the site where this worker died in a trench collapse. A federal investigation now underway. https://t.co/RB5K8UBYqD https://t.co/hyhFuOkkLp
— KPRC 2 Bryce Newberry (@KPRC2Bryce) February 6, 2025
The Houston Fire Department said two workers were inside a trench estimated to be about 8 feet deep when they noticed it appeared to start to cave in.
One of them was able to get out but the other got stuck when a wall of dirt collapsed on him, leaving him stuck for up to five minutes.
His colleagues eventually were able to rescue him and start CPR until firefighters arrived, who continued CPR, but it wasn’t enough to save him.
“We did everything we could to try to to help that victim, But unfortunately, he did succumb to his injuries,” HFD spokesperson Rustin Rawlings said. “It’s incredibly unfortunate. The Houston Fire Department never likes to respond to these types of incidents.”
The man has not yet been identified.
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KPRC 2 reached out to the apartment complex but didn’t receive a response.
It’s unclear what kind of work was being done or who was completing the work, but residents at the scene told KPRC 2’s Bryce Newberry it started on Friday and their water had been getting turned off during the day.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) responded to the scene and was conducting an investigation, according to HFD.
All work came to a stop at the apartments after the collapse.
‘Could have absolutely been prevented’
A longtime Houston-based OSHA safety expert reviewed photos of the scene with KPRC 2 and said the construction site looked “very disorganized from the get-go.”
Thomas Scott of Scott & Associates pointed to the images, which showed no apparent protective system as required by OSHA in trenches deeper than five feet. That system could include benching, sloping, shoring, or shielding, according to an OSHA document.
Scott also pointed to a ladder visible sticking out of the excavated area, which didn’t appear tall enough, and that all of the dug up soil appeared to be too close to the edge as opposed to the required two feet away.
“Excavations are one of the most serious hazards that we have in Texas,” Scott said. “It boils down to training your workers, providing them with the protective equipment that they need.”
OSHA has up to six months to do a thorough investigation and issue a citation, Scott said, which he said he expects to see happen in this case unless it’s determined to be employee misconduct.
KPRC 2 reached out to OSHA late Wednesday for an update on the investigation and to find out the company involved in the work, but so far, no response has been received.
