SEATTLE — Two men who were killed in a trench collapse at a Shoreline home were identified by the King County Medical Examiner on Wednesday.
The victims were identified as 66-year-old Peacefield Construction Owner David Ameh and 32-year-old Demetrius Sellers, who was also employed with the company. Ameh is listed as the president of Peacefield Construction on permits filed for the project at the home.
Ameh and Sellers were fixing a fractured sewer line at the residence while the owners were on vacation, according to the Shoreline Fire Department (SFD). The trench collapse was reported around 3 p.m. on Monday, July 4, in the Highland Terrace neighborhood. Both men were killed when a topside dirt pile caved in on the workers, according to SFD.
An SFD spokesperson said safety equipment was at the site but they were unsure if it was being utilized at the time of the trench collapse.
Recovering the bodies took multiple days. SFD had to pause the recovery mission due to unstable soil surrounding the trench.
“It's definitely a dangerous situation, more life-threatening and we want to make sure that we don't create more victims with that scenario,” SFD Public Information Officer Michelle Pidduck said.
The bodies were recovered around 4:10 a.m. on Wednesday morning with the help of multiple agencies. They were then turned over to the medical examiner’s office.
Previous L&I violations
L&I has launched an investigation into the collapse with Peacefield Construction company, which has been cited twice before for similar violations.
In 2014, the company had to pay $2,400 for two serious violations because employees were not safeguarded from excavation and there was no shoring, benching or trench box at a site in Burien. Shoring is putting up a steel wall in a trench to prevent collapse.
In 2019, the company paid $3,600 for two more serious violations. That inspection said an employer was working in a trench without a safe way to come and go and was not protected from cave-ins at a site in Federal Way.
Each citation said that these conditions could result in permanent disability and/or death.
The CDC says even a small amount of dirt collapsing in a trench is dangerous. One square yard of dirt can weigh as much as a compact car. That’s all it takes to cause serious injury and/or death to a worker. The CDC says these collapses are rarely survivable.
Drew Woodruff is a trench safety expert with DP Nicoli, a company that specializes in trench safety equipment like shoring. He came in on Tuesday to help recover the two men.
Woodruff says a cave in can happen in a heartbeat. And it doesn’t take much dirt to make an impact.
“You dig a three-foot trench and there's been people that have perished in four foot or less just working,” he said.
KING 5 called Peacefield Construction for comment but has not heard back.
SFD said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has strict regulations in place for trenches to prevent them from collapsing.
“This would be three [trench collapses] in about, you know, a little over twenty years. So, it is still incredibly rare,” said Pidduck.
L&I said their investigation could take up to six months