20-year-old killed in trench collapse in Pennsylvania
A 20-year-old young man was killed when a trench collapsed in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, last week, authorities said.
Pennsylvania State Police said in a news release on Monday that 20-year-old Dalen Martin of Smithsburg, Maryland, was killed in the trench collapse on April 2.
State police said troopers were called to Clover Drive in Hamilton Township around 2 p.m. on April 2 for the incident. At the scene, first responders found Martin unconscious. He later died from injuries sustained in the collapse, state police said.
CBS affiliate WHP reported that Martin was working at a construction site when the collapse happened. The trench was estimated to be about 50 feet long and 6 feet wide. The Franklin Fire Company in Chambersburg said in a Facebook post that the man was trapped up to his waist when first responders arrived.
His death was ruled accidental, and the investigation is closed, the news release from state police said. It was not immediately clear how the collapse happened.
Construction deaths in Pennsylvania
According to a May 2025 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 1 in 5 workplace deaths occurred in the construction industry in 2023.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said one of the "most dangerous" types of construction work is trenching. It kills 40 workers per year, on average. The federal agency added that 1 cubic yard of soil can weigh as much as 3,000 pounds.
"Workers can suffer death or serious injury within minutes of being caught in a trench cave-in," OSHA said.
