A construction worker lost his life on Thursday morning, September 28, when a trench he was working in collapsed under a sidewalk in San Francisco’s Lower Haight neighborhood. The worker was identified as Javier Romero, a 25-year-old resident of Alameda County.
The incident occurred around 10:35 a.m. near the intersection of Oak and Divisadero streets, where Romero was part of a crew working on a sewer rehabilitation project for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. He was buried under 8 feet of dirt and could not be rescued in time. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health is investigating the cause of the accident and the safety measures taken by the contractor.