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Feds say deadly Buffalo Grove trench collapse could have been prevented

By FOX 32 Digital Staff
Published  June 30, 2023 12:06pm CDT
Buffalo Grove
FOX 32 Chicago

Worker killed in trench collapse in Buffalo Grove identified

A man died after he was trapped in a trench in the front yard of a Buffalo Grove home Monday night, according to officials.

CHICAGO - Inspectors with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Friday that the Buffalo Grove trench collapse that killed a contractor last December could have been prevented. 

Nikodem Zaremba, 27, died on Dec. 12, 2022 when a trench collapsed on him while he was trying to fix a residential water line in the 1000 block of Aspen Drive.

OSHA inspectors said the plumbing business Zaremba worked for, Rooster Solutions Inc., failed to install cave-in protection in the trench and did not require head protection.

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The Burr Ridge company was issued a citation for one willful violation and one serious violation with proposed penalties of nearly $36,000.

Protective systems are required for trenches that are deeper than 5 feet.

Zaremba and two others were performing sewer repair work in an excavation that was roughly 13 feet long, 9 feet wide and 8 feet deep. No one else was injured in the trench collapse.