DPW worker killed in trench fall-in identified
As a state investigation into the trench collapse in Eastpointe gets underway, the city’s workforce and leaders are mourning a Department of Public Works employee who died trying to repair a water main break.
City Manager Elke Doom on Thursday identifi the worker as Brian Theobald. The 45-year- old employee was a 13year DPW veteran who is survived by his wife and two children.
In a statement, Doom called him a “valued employee.”
“I extend my deepest sympathies to the Theobald family and Brian’s Eastpointe family,” Doom said in the statement. “Brian died serving the citizens of Eastpointe
and will always be remembered.”
The trench collapse occurred about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday as a crew from the city’s Department of Public Works was called out to repair a water main break on Gratiot Avenue near Lydia Street. As Theobald was down in the trench, estimated to be 1012 feet below the ground, it gave way, trapping him in the hole. Rain had been intermittently falling throughout the day, making the trench site muddy, and may have been a contributing factor to the collapse, according to fire officials.
Deputy Fire Chief Nick Sage said the victim was trapped for about 10 minutes before firefighters could pull him from the scene. Firefighters/paramedics and Medstar Ambulance personnel worked furiously to administer life-saving measures and rushed him to Ascension St. John Hospital in Detroit
“Tragically, Mr. Theobald’s injuries were too severe and he did not survive,” Doom said.
Eastpointe Mayor Monique Owens late Wednesday called Theobald “one of our best workers.” She added: “Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family at this time.”
A witness said fire crews worked furiously to pull the worker from the hole. Dean Pollard of Eastpointe was on his way home from the store when he saw fire trucks pull up to the scene. He joined in the rescue effort, using a fire truck pulley to pull the worker out.
“He was almost covered in mud and water,” Pollard told Macomb County Scanner. “As soon as they got him out, the firefighters started doing CPR on him right away. He wasn’t breathing.”
One resident recalled Theobald as a caring man. Chris DeBacker, whose late father Ron DeBacker worked at the DPW for more than 20 years, worked with Theobald for several years.
“Brian was a kind man,” Robin said in a Facebook post. “My father was forced to retire due to an illness in 2013 and Brian made sure to keep in contact,” Robin said in a Facebook post. “He treated my mother with kindness and was a genuine man. This is awful. My thoughts are with his wife and two boys.”
Meanwhile, the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) sent an investigator to the scene to start a probe into the incident. State offices were closed Thursday for New Year’s Eve and unavailable for comment.
It was not immediately known if the DPW crew had used trench sheets to bolster the site.
According to MIOSHA, the incident marked the 54th worker death in the state in 2020. It was the fifth fatality in Macomb County.
The city manager said the water main break hasn’t yet been repaired. At the Gratiot site, water could be seen bubbling from the hole, which has been fenced off.
“It has not cut off water to our residents, rather they may experience lower than normal water pressure,” Doom said in an email.
The southbound lanes of Gratiot, south of Eight Mile Road, were closed to traffic for about four hours as the rescue unfolded and the investigation conducted late Wednesday. It has since been re-opened.