Construction worker rescued after trench accident, hospitalized in Boise with injuries
The Eagle Fire Department responded to an accident involving an injured construction worker who was hurt while working in a trench around 4:45 p.m. Monday.
Crews responded to the accident at Idaho 55 and Hill Road, where an adult male was extricated from the trench and transported to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, according to the Eagle Fire Department’s Facebook page.
Eagle Fire Battalion Chief Rob Shoplock said the worker was struck by a piece of underground equipment and he needed to be rescued. Shoplock estimated the worker was about 12 to 15 feet beneath the ground when firefighters pulled him up. Workers were able to shut off the equipment, and the victim was wearing a construction helmet.
Shoplock said he wasn’t sure what kind of construction the workers were doing, but they would have been doing work on piping at the time. The worker was talking to the firefighters, and his injuries were non-life-threatening.
The worker and the construction company he was working for have not yet been publicly identified. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was notified of the Monday accident and is investigating.
Earlier this month, two men died in Payette County when a trench collapsed while they were installing irrigation pipes in New Plymouth. The workmen were Javier Ortega Jr., 59, of New Plymouth, and Arcenio Carrillo, 51, of Vale, Oregon.
OSHA is still investigating the Payette County trench collapse, and the name of that construction company has not yet been made public.
This story was originally published April 30, 2019 at 7:12 AM.
