Man Trapped In Trench In North Strabane Township Dies
SOUTH STRABANE TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- A man in Washington County has died after being trapped in a trench.
According to emergency officials, the collapse was first reported on Friday around 1:15 p.m. on Brehm Road in North Strabane Township.
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Washington County emergency officials said the man was working in the ditch when it collapsed onto him.
The 43-year-old man was working in the front yard of a house he shares with his girlfriend, a relative told KDKA's Bob Allen.
The Washington County Coroner identified him as Richard St. John of Bellaire, Ohio.
St. John was trying to tap into a sewer line and dug a hole about 12 feet deep.
While inside, the dirt wall collapsed. St. John did not have the safety equipment to protect him from collapse, the relative said.
The South Buffalo Volunteer Fire Department said on Facebook that St. John was a volunteer fireman at the Wolfhurst Fire Dept Station 41 in Wolfhurst, Ohio.
Officials spent hours trying to rescue the man.
WATCH: KDA's Bob Allen reports live from North Strabane Township.
Stay with KDKA for the latest on this developing story.
