Trench collapses, kills man in Lakeville
A south metro man in his 50s died Tuesday after trench walls collapsed on him as he worked to install drain tile at a new home in Lakeville.
Rescue efforts took about four hours as police and Dakota County emergency responders worked to get to the man in an 8-foot deep trench that continued crumbling in on them.
Lakeville police received a call around 3:45 p.m. that a man was trapped in a trench at 179th Street West and Hyde Park Avenue. Police say he was working with his brother.
The man's brother and other workers on a nearby construction site tried to rescue him, said deputy chief John Kornmann of the Lakeville Police Department.
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"One of the things that makes a tragic scene even worse is the man running the backhoe was the victim's brother," he added.
Police said a firefighter was lowered on a backhoe to check the man's vital signs and found no heartbeat.
"At that point it went from a rescue mission to a recovery mission," Kornmann said.
Emergency responders ultimately dug the trench away to recover the body when collapsing walls created a dangerous situation.
Police have not yet identified the man.