A 53-year-old construction foreman, working on his last project before retirement, was killed in Sykesville when a trench caved in on him yesterday.
Police said the victim was identified from his driver's license as Francis Allen Mercilliott of the 4200 block of Overlook Court near Dunkirk in Calvert County.
Authorities said he was working on the grounds of Springfield Hospital Center, where underground steam pipes were being removed. A mound of freshly dug dirt, piled at the edge of a 10-foot-deep ditch, caved in on top of him about 6:30 a.m. Rescue workers were notified at 7:07 a.m., they said.
His body was recovered from the ditch about 9:45 a.m. by members of the Sykesville fire-rescue company, the Baltimore County Advanced Cave-In and Advanced Tactical Rescue unit, and firefighters from West Friendship of the Howard County fire department.
Capt. Bob Chesney of the Sykesville Rescue Squad said the first crews were able to determine that Mr. Mercilliott was dead, so they employed time-consuming safety precautions in removing the body, to minimize danger to rescuers.
He called the incident "a very preventable accident."
David Humphrey, director of public information for the state Department of General Services, said, "The victim jumped into the ditch even though a back-hoe operator, who was excavating dirt from the ditch, yelled to him, 'Frank, don't get in there, I'm not ready for you,' and immediately the dirt covered the foreman."
The information officer said an inspector for a subcontractor at the construction site jumped into the cave-in and began digging with her hands in an attempt to save the victim, but was unable to uncover him.
Fire department rescuers said only the man's shirt, at the center of his back, was visible when they arrived. The body was in an inverted U position, head and feet down.
A piece of welding equipment was discovered near the victim's hand, but it was not clear whether Mr. Mercilliott had jumped into the ditch to retrieve it.
State officials said M&M Welding & Fabricators Inc., of Gaithersburg, has a $324,000 contract to replace the underground steam distribution system at Springfield Hospital because of old, failing pipes. The work started in March and was nearing completion, they said.
According to state officials, M&M had been warned within the past two weeks about failure to shore up the sides of ditches properly. M&M officials would not comment or identify their employee.
