RALEIGH, N.C. — Authorities say a construction worker died Friday at a housing development on Pawley's Mill Circle in Wakefield Plantation after being trapped under a mound of dirt.
Jose Santo Hernandez Martinez, 32, of Raleigh, his brother and another man were working on a basement for BB&K Concrete when the ditch caved in, trapping Martinez underneath 10 feet of dirt.
"I saw them with the backhoe trying to dig out. They were just running all over the place," neighbor Mark McPeak said.
Several fire and rescue crews started removing the dirt with buckets to try to rescue Martinez, but they were unable to get to him in time.
Crews said there were no supports in the ditch. Officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the accident.
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