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SARATOGA SPRINGS — A Lehi man was killed in a trench collapse Friday, becoming the second worker in a week to die in a trench collapse in Utah County and the third person to die in an industrial accident in the state in that time.
Yongwhan Kim, 20, and one other construction worker were digging a trench as part of a new home's foundation at 1900 S. Centennial Blvd. when the trench collapsed around 2:30 p.m., Saratoga Springs spokesman Owen Jackson said.
Kim was working inside the trench when a co-worker who had been operating a backhoe at the site left momentarily to finish some other tasks, Jackson said. The operator later returned to the site and couldn't locate Kim, eventually realizing he had been buried in the trench.
The man performed CPR on Kim while emergency responders were en route, but he died at the scene.
Police were still investigating what caused the trench to cave.
On Sept. 30, Antonio Gonzalez, 41, of Provo, died after a trench that was more than 6 feet deep partially collapsed on him at 860 E. 500 South, American Fork. Crews were digging a waterline or sewer line when the incident occurred.
Another man who went in after Gonzalez to try to help him was buried up to his thigh and was later taken to a hospital as a precaution. A third worker who had tried to help the two men was able to get out of the trench on his own power.
Gonzalez was trying to fix the weakening trench and clear away debris when the collapse occurred, police said.
Kim was working for HadCo Construction, Jackson said. The construction company and its subcontractor involved in the American Fork incident are not associated with HadCo.
In St. George, 48-year-old Errick Holmes of Long Beach, California, was crushed under a 9,000-pound load of glass that he was delivering to a business Wednesday. Emergency responders needed 33 minutes to free Holmes, according to St. George police. He died from his injuries Friday.
In another work accident Friday, a 39-year-old Layton man was critically injured after becoming trapped in part of a concrete paver being used in I-15 construction near Brigham City.
The man was using an instrument known as a dowel bar inserter under the paver when "somehow he got inside and was caught by the device and pinned, and the device crushed against him," according to a prepared statement from the Utah Highway Patrol.
The man was airlifted to McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden in critical condition. He was later upgraded to stable condition.
