Westmont worker dies after becoming trapped in underground vault that filled with water

DUPAGE COUNTY - An employee for the village of Westmont died on Thursday after becoming stuck in an underground vault while working on a water main break that erupted and flooded the hole with water.

The incident began this morning around 11:45 a.m. near the intersection of 60th Street and Deming Place.

"They could see him until the water started gushing. Six-inch main is a lot of water, so it overtook him," said Chief Steve Riley with the Westmont Fire Department.

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The Westmont Public Works employee, identified as Matt Heiden, was down in the six-foot hole working on a water main break when the hole began filling with water. Fellow workers tried to rescue him, but his hand was stuck between pipes, officials said. The vault filled with water and the man was trapped for 55 minutes.

"Once we got the water shut off, and we could see, we could tell that his hand was down underneath there, under the piping," said Chief Riley about the difficulties in rescuing the worker.

Heiden was pulled out around 12:40 and given CPR. He was then taken to Good Samaritan Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1:07 p.m.

"I saw them bring the stretcher over probably 20 minutes before they got him out," said neighbor Sue Jay, who added the man’s coworkers were distraught. "A lot of them were on their knees afterward. Some of them were patting on the back or trying to help them out a little bit. You could tell it affected them."

The job was scheduled lead and copper pipe repair work that neighbors were notified of in a posted notice. It read that water in the area would be shut off Thursday from 8 a.m. to 2p.m. — that has now been extended.

"Take as long as they need with a death like that. There’s nothing more important than that," said Mark Miano, who lives nearby.

"Heiden was originally hired with the Village of Westmont as a seasonal employee in 2019 and 2021.  He was hired as a part-time Water Maintenance Worker in September of 2021 and recently moved to full-time. Our support and sympathy goes out to Matt’s family, friends, and colleagues," the village said in a statement.

OSHA is investigating and will be at the scene on Friday.