Worker dies after getting trapped in trench at construction site
By JT Moodee Lockman
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BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — A construction worker died Tuesday after a trench he was working in partially collapsed in Baltimore County, according to fire and police officials.
Crews responded around 8:30 a.m. to a call for a confined space rescue in the 9800 block of Lyons Mills Road in Owings Mills, where a new elementary school was being constructed.
Worker dies in trench collapse
Once on the scene, officials determined that 50-year-old Luis Medrano was in the trench digging a hole when water began to fill the area.
The trench began to partially collapse, dropping a large amount of dirt on Medrano, police said.
Medrano was pronounced dead after being extracted from the trench.
Officials from Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) also responded to the scene.
Similar Baltimore County rescues
A similar trench incident in Catonsville left two construction workers dead in February.
The workers were trapped for nearly seven hours after a brick wall fell onto them as they were reinforcing it. They became trapped in a six-foot trench while in critical condition.
Fire crews worked to support the trench to prevent the dirt from caving in before they were able to get the workers out.
“It’s a calculated method and it does take time, but they want to make sure that they are doing so in the safest measures,” Baltimore County Fire Lt. Twana Allen said at the time.
Following the seven-hour rescue effort, 24-year-old Emerson Amestica and 32-year-old Wilmer Barzallo were both pronounced dead.
In October 2024, a similar rescue was carried out after a man fell 30 feet into a well in Catonsville.
The man was rescued after nearly 24 hours in the confined space. Officials said he was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.
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