Trench Collapse Victim Talks About His Harrowing Ordeal

Thursday, May 31st 2007, 1:43 pm

By: News On 6

He survived a harrowing trench collapse, now heâ€™s talking about his frightening ordeal. Forty-one-year-old Steve Booth was part of a construction crew putting in a new storm water drain for the future Sand Springs Football Stadium. The wall of the trench collapsed, trapping him up to his waist. Seconds later, another collapse buried him up to his neck. He talked to News on 6 reporter Steve Berg from his hospital bed. He reports Booth says it was his first time working in a trench that deep, and it was almost his last.

"Man when that dirt hit me the second time, I just saw my life flash before my eyes, because I couldn't breathe," Booth said.

Steve Booth says the first cave-in happened so fast, he had no time to react. Unable to move, he could only watch as a second wave of dirt fell.

"And the second cave-in, it covered me up to my neck,â€ said Booth. â€œThat one was the one that did the most damage. I didn't think I was going to make it. There was so much pressure on my chest, and I started to spit up blood."

Booth says he has injuries to his ribs, lungs, kidneys and spleen. He says he got the job working on the site through a temp agency and that he had some experience working in trenches before but not one this deep, which the fire department told us went about eight feet down.

He says it had been raining off and on during the day, but it never occurred to him it might collapse.

"I wasn't scared or paranoid or anything that it would cave in. I was just working,â€ Booth said. â€œYou know, they seemed pretty confident, so I was too."

He says he wants to thank Jack and Harley, his co-workers on the job. He says he never got their last names, but he says they saved his life, Jack working the backhoe, and Harley working with his bare hands to dig the dirt away from his chest.

"Actually they really kept their cool,â€ Booth said. â€œIf they had panicked, I wouldn't have made it."

Booth also wanted to thank the Sand Springs Fire Department for their rescue efforts. The fire department says the sides of the trench were not reinforced or supported. On Thursday, we called the contractor on the job to ask them about that, but they have not called us back.

The fire department says OSHA will likely be investigating.

Watch the video: Trench Collapse Victim Opens Up About His Frightening Experience

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