Drain co., owner charged in fatal trench tragedy
The probe of a tragic South End trench collapse that claimed the lives of two workers resulted in a grand jury indicting the company and its owner on two counts of manslaughter and a raft of claims the organization tried to cover up worksite misconduct in the past.
Kevin Otto, a 42-year-old Blackstone resident, and his company, Atlantic Drain Services, will both face manslaughter charges in connection with the Oct. 21 cave-in at a Dartmouth Street dig site that killed 47-year-old Robert Higgins and 53-year-old Kelvin Mattocks after dirt gave way and a fire hydrant collapsed, rupturing a water pipe that quickly filled the 14-foot trench.
At a press conference yesterday, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said investigators found the trench was not shored up with planks or a trench box, as required by federal regulators and painstakingly explained to the company after past dig site violations.
Otto and Atlantic Drain, Conley said, “knew the risk posed by a 14-foot trench without proper shoring — and that they chose to run that risk rather than take reasonable precautions. This isn’t an accident. This isn’t negligence. This is wanton and reckless conduct, and we believe it cost both men their lives.”
Atlantic Drain has a long record of fines for “serious,” “willful” and “repeat” safety violations, and has been fined $140,080 by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 23 workplace safety violations in 2007, 2012, 2013 and 2015.
Investigators also found what they believe were doctored safety documents that claimed employees had attended safety training after violations in 2007 and 2012 — when in fact the employees didn’t go to the trainings, Conley said.
“The grand jury investigation not only revealed evidence of a crime at the Dartmouth Street dig site but also suggested a cover-up of past misconduct,” Conley said.
Otto did not return calls for comment. He will be summoned and arraigned at Suffolk Superior Court at a later date.
Although Otto faces a maximum of 20 years behind bars for each count, the company’s liability is capped at $1,000 if convicted of manslaughter, prosecutors said.
Conley called on legislators to boost that cap, which he said hasn’t been updated in 200 years.
“Robert Higgins, Kelvin Mattocks and generations of laborers just like them dug the tunnels and foundations, built the homes, and raised the towers that help make this city great,” Conley said. “We won’t forget their sacrifice, and we won’t let their deaths go unanswered.”