Workers replacing a storm drain at an Ohio job site warned that a trench had become dangerously deep, but federal investigators say they were told to enter it anyway — minutes before it collapsed, killing one worker and severely injuring two others.
Jose Alberto Barajas Martinez, 28, was killed in the December 5 collapse near Milford. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration later found the roughly 8-foot-deep trench had no protection against a cave-in, despite federal rules requiring safeguards for trenches deeper than 5 feet, according to records obtained by the Cincinnati Enquirer.
OSHA investigators concluded that workers had told their employer, Whispering Creek LLC, that the excavation had become “too deep and dangerous.” Records show they were directed to enter the trench anyway. The trench collapsed minutes later…