CRITTENDEN, Ky. — The owner of a construction company that employs a man who was buried waist-deep in a trench Thursday said there was “no excuse” for not using a trench box to secure the sides.

        “We just didn't check everything out as good as we should have,” said Jim Music, owner of Music Construction.

        Mr. Music said this is the first trench accident for his Mount Sterling, Ky., company.

Donnie Thacker of Shelbiana, Ky., was pulled out of a trench after being stuck for about 10 hours. He was in serious condition Friday at University Hospital. (Yuli Wu photo) | ZOOM |

        Donnie Thacker, 27, of Shelbiana, Ky., was listed in serious condition Friday at University Hospital. After the collapse, he was stuck in the 9-foot-deep trench for more than 10 hours before being freed just after midnight Friday.

        Crews from numerous fire, EMS and technical rescue squads used garden shovels to carefully dig the clay and dirt from the 3-foot-wide trench. Mr. Thacker took a shovel at one point and helped the rescuers, who were working 10-minute shifts suspended upside down.

        Music Construction, a subcontractor for Eaton Asphalt of Fort Wright on a Kentucky Department of Highways project, has never been cited by the Kentucky Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said Eddie Jacobs, assistant to Kentucky Secretary of Labor Joe Norseworthy.

        Mr. Jacobs said Eaton Asphalt — the general contractor for the project in front of Grant County Deposit Bank on Violet Road — was cited by OSHA in a 1993 case, once for a training violation and twice for incidents involving trench safety. No one died; Eaton was fined $5,000.

        Eaton Asphalt president Charles Burlew declined to comment on the details of the investigation, but said work at the site could resume next week.

        “This is a very dangerous business we're in,” Mr. Burlew said. “Obviously things can happen if we are not very, very careful.”

        The state OSHA is part of the Labor Cabinet. Under state law, contractors and subcontractors can be cited for violations.

        “The investigation has been opened,” Mr. Jacobs said from his office in Frankfort. “The investigation could run anywhere from three to four weeks to three to four months, depending on the scope.”

        Mr. Jacobs said general contractors are required by state and federal law to do one of two things for trenches deeper than 5 feet: install a “trench box” for shoring up the walls, or use a sloping excavation method.

        A general contractor or subcontractor must inspect trenches daily before and during each shift, and workers must be taught to spot potential problems. Mr. Jacobs said the company employing the workers in the trench is responsible for inspections.

        Mr. Jacobs said his office investigated seven trenching accidents last year that resulted in three deaths. One of those killed was Larry Dale Stith, 32, of DeMossville, who died June 22, 2000, in an accident at the corner of Conner Drive and Ky. 237 in Hebron.

        In November, Paul Michels & Sons of Fort Wright, a subcontractor for Paul Hemmer Construction Co., was fined $52,500 for willfully not instructing workers about safety hazards or inspecting the trench and other safety systems.

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