A 22-year-old worker died last week in Streamwood, Illinois after becoming trapped in a manhole.
Authorities say Brett Morrow was part of a construction crew working to clean out and install lining in a sanitary sewer system. He was about 30 feet into a two foot-wide pipe when he became trapped. According to news sources, firefighters crawled down through the pipe, but had trouble reaching Morrow because of a large quantity of hardened lining material that was blocking the pipe.
First responders had to use saws to cut the hardened lining away – a process that took hours. By the time they were able to get to Morrow, he was dead.
Morrow reportedly worked for Benchmark Construction.
OSHA is investigating the fatality.