An Ohio construction worker died after he was buried alive while working in a storm drain that workers had complained was too “deep and dangerous,” according to federal investigators.
Jose Alberto Barajas Martinez, 28, was killed and two of his coworkers were seriously injured while installing corrugated pipe in a residential yard in Milford on December 5, 2025. The workers had warned their employer that the excavation site to replace the storm drain was dangerous but were instructed to enter the 8-foot-deep trench anyway, federal records obtained by the Cincinnati Enquirer said
Minutes later, the trench collapsed, sending mud and dirt crashing down on the men…