Cave-ins are one of the most common causes of road construction accidents. Although soil conditions can be unpredictable and heavily influenced by things such as weather, cave-in accidents are frequently attributed to inadequate safety measures taken by contractors.
One of the most recent cave-in construction accidents happened in Carroll County, Indiana. The accident occurred at an excavation site on State Road 25. A worker was near a hillside that gave way and buried him alive.
Authorities say that the 30-year-old construction worker was killed in the accident. The Indiana Department of Transportation attempted to downplay this fatal accident as a rare anomaly.
“This is extremely rare and, obviously, a tragedy that we don’t ever want to see happen,” an INDOT spokesperson said. “We do everything we can to make safety number one and make sure things like this don’t happen. We’ll continue to do that. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family members.”
The spokesperson added that INDOT is cooperating with local investigators.
The Indiana Star reports that the subcontractor involved in this project has also launched an independent investigation in the matter. The subcontractor is T.J. Lambrecht, a company that specializes in earth moving and underground infrastructure projects.