Contractor cited, fined for fatal Daly City trench collapse

DALY CITY » A Livermore pipe contractor has been fined $242,600 and cited for 10 safety violations in connection with the death of a worker when a trench collapsed at a Daly City construction site last summer, according to Cal-OSHA.

The state workplace safety watchdog announced the penalties in a Wednesday news release, which stated that Platinum Pipeline Inc. committed two serious “willful-serious accident-related” violations for performing the trench work despite inadequate worker protections and after someone spotted potential cavein hazards prior to the July 27, 2018 collapse at 1 Martin Street.

“Investigators determined the Livermore company committed willfulserious safety violations by instructing employees to continue grading the bottom of the trench without providing any protection, even after identifying the soil as unstable,” the CalOSHA statement reads. “As a result, a 14-foot-high excavation wall collapsed and killed one of the workers.”

The worker who died was identified as 34-year-old Abel Sauceda Quinonez, a father of four who relatives said was on his first day at the work site.

The North County Fire Authority was called after the collapse, reported about 11:20 a.m., and needed more than 12 hours to remove Quinonez from mounds of dirt and debris. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities said the victim was among five workers digging trenches to install two storm drain pipes. Cal-OSHA stated that three of the five workers were experienced with excavation, and sloped the ends of the trench to prevent a cave-in. But because of concern about the stability of a nearby utility pole, one side was not sloped, the agency’s investigation found.

At one point an operator noticed “a large crack in the soft dirt of the unprotected wall.” But two workers, including Quinonez, were allowed to keep working and told to exercise caution, Cal-OSHA stated. The wall collapsed, and the other worker escaped, but Quinonez was trapped and later died.

“Excavations must be properly shored, sloped or shielded before workers enter,” Cal-OSHA Chief Juliann Sum said in a statement. “The employer overseeing this operation understood the hazards, but did not take the necessary steps to protect its workers.”

The other eight violations cited involved the contractor failing to secure the utility pole and other safety hazards, including keeping the excavated dirt and other material too close to the excavation site.

A request for comment from Platinum Pipeline was not returned as of Wednesday afternoon.