Construction Company Not Cited in Employee's Death

Mark Swartwood died after being partially buried in a construction trench.

Swartwood, 33, was a project manager at the construction site in the Brookmere section of Preston in Cary. He was trapped February 10 for two-and-a-half hours after the walls of the trench collapsed from days of soaking rain. He was virtually buried in mud as rescue workers struggled to free him.

Smartwood died February 17.

The investigation concludes that the construction company never intended for workers to go inside the trench. Swartwood reportedly took it upon himself to go into the trench to repair something.

Officially, OSHA calls it "employee misconduct," and the company itself was found not at fault.