Crews Free Man Trapped In Collapsed Trench In Warren

WARREN (WWJ) - A Howell man rushed to Beaumont Hospital Tuesday night, following an intense two-hour rescue effort from a trench collapse.

Shortly before 8:00 p.m. rescue crews were called to the scene of a man trapped in a trench in Warren.

Warren Mayor Jim Fouts telling WWJ that the construction worker, a 37-year-old man, was trapped in a trench at the site of a former bowling alley on Murthum and Van Dyke roads.

Around 9:30 p.m. first responders were able to remove the man and a waiting ambulance took the construction worker to Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak.

Fire Commissioner Skip McAdams praised efforts from emergency responders.

"The collapsing dirt was a wet clay mix tight compact, very tight, very heavy," said McAdams.

Fouts says the man was trying to connect a sewer drain to a city drain -- but apparently wasn't using a metal trench box, which is designed to prevent a collapse.

Workplace safety regulators will investigate the incident.

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