If his employer had protected him properly as he worked in a 12-foot-deep trench to connect a new home's plumbing to the main sewer line, 31-year-old LeDonte McCruter could have returned home at day's end to spend time with the young nieces and nephews he adored. Instead, a kind man known for his quick smile died at a Birmingham work site when the trench around him collapsed and buried him alive on Aug. 31, 2014. Rescue workers tried for more than six hours to save McCruter, a day laborer.
OSHA responded to the scene at 1416 24th Street in Birmingham and found that subcontractor Joshua Dailey, who hired McCruter, did not provide cave-in protection to prevent the trench collapse. OSHA deemed Dailey responsible for one willful and one serious safety violation. The site's general contractor, Otis Bates and Bates Construction, also faces one serious safety violation.