Peter Dillon pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of a 23-year-old Marlon Diaz killed in a 2021 trench collapse and will be sentenced in November.
Dillon was the owner A4S LLC in Avon, Colorado, which has since gone out of business.
The plea follows a criminal referral by the U.S. Department of Labor after Peter Dillon and his company refused to require the use of proper safety equipment to protect his workers. The refusal contributed to a trench collapse in which Diaz suffered fatal injuries as he installed a residential sewer line.
Read also: What is a protective system for trenches?
After an investigation of the incident by the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, A4S LLC received three willful citations in May 2022 for not ensuring the excavation was inspected by a competent person, failing to instruct employees on the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions and not having a trench protective system in place. OSHA also issued the company a serious citation for not having a safe means of exit within 25 lateral feet of employees working in a trench.
In addition to its citations, OSHA proposed $449,583 in penalties and placed the A4S LLC in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program. A4S LLC has since shuttered and Dillon agreed to forfeit any future ownership, leadership, or management position that involves trenching or excavation, or the oversight of workplace safety and health.
"Marlon Diaz's life could have been spared if Peter Dillon had required the use of safety equipment that was lying unused near the trench when it collapsed," said Regional Solicitor John Rainwater in Denver. "We deeply appreciate the work of the Summit County District Attorney's office in holding Peter Dillon accountable and will continue to work closely with OSHA and local, state and federal prosecutors to bring employers who fail to protect employees as the law demands to justice."
Source: OSHA
