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The Irish Sun
03-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Construction worker killed after getting buried alive by ‘shifting dirt' in horror accident on site
Rescuers spent 13 hours trying to recover his body WORKPLACE HORROR Construction worker killed after getting buried alive by 'shifting dirt' in horror accident on site A CONSTRUCTION worker tragically died after becoming trapped beneath six feet of collapsing earth in Arizona. Ronald Andrew Baquera Jr., known as Ronnie, 44, was working on a site in Goodyear on Monday when a trench suddenly collapsed. Advertisement 3 Ronnie, a 44-year-old construction worker, tragically died after being trapped beneath six feet of collapsing earth Credit: 3 The dad-of-three was working in Goodyear on July 28 when a trench suddenly collapsed 3 An friend organised a vigil for him on Friday Credit: facebook/" Emergency crews were called to a construction site near Citrus and Lower Buckeye roads soon after 1pm on July 28, reports ABC15 News. They saw workers desperately using equipment to free Ronnie, who was trapped in a six-foot hole filled with fast-moving dirt. When crews took over, they noticed that as more dirt was being pulled out, more collapsed inward. Sensitive infrastructure on the site - including gas lines - meant crews had to use specialised equipment. Advertisement Tragically, within half an hour, the rescue turned into a gruelling 13-hour-long recovery mission. At around 2am on July 29, crews retrieved his body from the trench. Melissa Prado, the mum of two of Ronnie's children, told ABC15 News that the family is shocked. She said: "My daughter is really torn up. She spends almost every day with him. She's a little distraught, and my son's angry. Advertisement "They're not really coping too well. His hobby was his children.' Melissa said she is setting aside questions about what happened on that day. Oasis fan plunges to his death 'from upper tier' of Wembley stadium during reunion gig as witness reveals horror 'I'm sure it will come out,' she said. 'But I don't care to know right now.' Ronnie leaves behind two sons and a daughter. Advertisement His childhood friend Nate Costly organised a vigil at the site on Friday. People gathered to pay their respects to a man who would 'fix things with laughter or his hands', as gospel singer Shatera Williams described him. Nate wrote in a tribute posted on Facebook: 'Ronnie was a loving father and a loyal friend - brutally honest, endlessly caring, and unforgettable.' The state's worker-safety agency, ADOSH, told ABC15 that an investigation has been launched into whether there were safety violations at the site. Advertisement The outlet added that a safety report could take four to five months to complete. Just days later, Fred Gonzalez and his 18-year-old son were working in a trench just feet from the one that collapsed after being called to inspect nearby piping. Fred told local outlet AZ Central: 'It definitely feels eerie. We all are involved in the underground industry. "The trench they were working in was shored up with a metal box-like structure. It can happen.' Advertisement A GoFundMe page has been set up to support Ronnie's family with funeral and memorial expenses. It comes as a child died after becoming trapped in a storm drain during flash floods while playing outside with friends. Mason Kearns, 13, from Mount Airy, Maryland, was swept into the pipe on July 31 - just 20 feet from his home - after being caught in strong floodwaters.
Scottish Sun
03-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Construction worker killed after getting buried alive by ‘shifting dirt' in horror accident on site
Rescuers spent 13 hours trying to recover his body WORKPLACE HORROR Construction worker killed after getting buried alive by 'shifting dirt' in horror accident on site A CONSTRUCTION worker tragically died after becoming trapped beneath six feet of collapsing earth in Arizona. Ronald Andrew Baquera Jr., known as Ronnie, 44, was working on a site in Goodyear on Monday when a trench suddenly collapsed. 3 Ronnie, a 44-year-old construction worker, tragically died after being trapped beneath six feet of collapsing earth Credit: 3 The dad-of-three was working in Goodyear on July 28 when a trench suddenly collapsed 3 An friend organised a vigil for him on Friday Credit: facebook/" Emergency crews were called to a construction site near Citrus and Lower Buckeye roads soon after 1pm on July 28, reports ABC15 News. They saw workers desperately using equipment to free Ronnie, who was trapped in a six-foot hole filled with fast-moving dirt. When crews took over, they noticed that as more dirt was being pulled out, more collapsed inward. Sensitive infrastructure on the site - including gas lines - meant crews had to use specialised equipment. Tragically, within half an hour, the rescue turned into a gruelling 13-hour-long recovery mission. At around 2am on July 29, crews retrieved his body from the trench. Melissa Prado, the mum of two of Ronnie's children, told ABC15 News that the family is shocked. She said: "My daughter is really torn up. She spends almost every day with him. She's a little distraught, and my son's angry. "They're not really coping too well. His hobby was his children.' Melissa said she is setting aside questions about what happened on that day. Oasis fan plunges to his death 'from upper tier' of Wembley stadium during reunion gig as witness reveals horror 'I'm sure it will come out,' she said. 'But I don't care to know right now.' Ronnie leaves behind two sons and a daughter. His childhood friend Nate Costly organised a vigil at the site on Friday. People gathered to pay their respects to a man who would 'fix things with laughter or his hands', as gospel singer Shatera Williams described him. Nate wrote in a tribute posted on Facebook: 'Ronnie was a loving father and a loyal friend - brutally honest, endlessly caring, and unforgettable.' The state's worker-safety agency, ADOSH, told ABC15 that an investigation has been launched into whether there were safety violations at the site. The outlet added that a safety report could take four to five months to complete. Just days later, Fred Gonzalez and his 18-year-old son were working in a trench just feet from the one that collapsed after being called to inspect nearby piping. Fred told local outlet AZ Central: 'It definitely feels eerie. We all are involved in the underground industry. "The trench they were working in was shored up with a metal box-like structure. It can happen.' A GoFundMe page has been set up to support Ronnie's family with funeral and memorial expenses. It comes as a child died after becoming trapped in a storm drain during flash floods while playing outside with friends. Mason Kearns, 13, from Mount Airy, Maryland, was swept into the pipe on July 31 - just 20 feet from his home - after being caught in strong floodwaters.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Yahoo
'I would like to get the full story': APS contractor's wife wants answers after his death
When Jenny Olver got a call that her husband, Mike, had an accident at an Arizona Public Service company worksite in Arizona, it had to be a minor accident, she thought. Her husband of nearly five years was highly experienced and was very cautious about safety. "It was alarming, but I didn't worry too much," she said. In fact, a previous employer had commended Mike in a publication for identifying a safety flaw that could have caused serious injuries to other workers, but the man she had known for nine years was not coming home. More than three months after his death, Jenny says she still has a lot of questions about how Mike died. An investigative report by the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health shows a guardrail from which he fell while working for Bay Valve, a contractor at the APS Redhawk Power Plant in Arlington, Arizona near Buckeye, did not meet safety standards. The report is the most detailed information she has about the circumstances surrounding her husband's death. "I would like to get the full story of what exactly happened," Jenny said. "We only know what was released in the ADOSH report." The ADOSH report had levied an $11,500 penalty on both APS and Mike's employer, Bay Valve. After The Republic's previous story on ADOSH's findings, readers emailed how alarmed they were at how little the penalty is considering there was a loss of life. A policy manual on civil penalties from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration released in January 2025, shows that penalties for violations range from $7,000 to $16,550 for gravity based penalties referenced in ADOSH's report. The penalties on APS and Bay Valve, would fall within the moderate gravity violation range. ADOSH is not offering a comment on this story beyond the report of its investigation. The penalty does not matter much to Jenny, who is seeking that what happened to her husband never happens again. She said Mike was a well-known machinist in the industry who would travel often for work. On the morning of Nov. 4, 2024, Mike packed his bags as usual. He had ensured he went to bed early the previous day since he had a work trip ahead of him. In their living room, Jenny sipped coffee with her prayer book in another hand. A kiss and a hug later, Mike was out of the door. They had talked about a planned family trip. As soon as he was back, they were going to head to a cabin in the Lake Tahoe Reserve with the entire family for an early Thanksgiving. "The day of his accident, he called me that morning just because he had a lull I think, and he wanted to say hi and I love you and check in," Jenny said. A few hours later, 3 days after Mike left home, he was pronounced dead after he had fallen 18 feet from a guardrail. He was more than 500 miles from home. A period that is supposed to be a time of joy lays ahead of the Olver family this year. Two of their children are getting married. Jenny said she still cannot process the fact that Mike would not be there to walk them down the aisle. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: APS contractor died at work. Now his wife wants to know what happened
