By: Sandra Diamond Fox
Source: The News-Times, Danbury, Conn. (TNS)
Feb. 8—BETHEL — A local contractor pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment in connection with the 2021 death of a laborer, the Westchester County, N.Y., District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
Jose Vega, 46, a laborer at the Mamaroneck, N.Y., construction site, was killed after the trench he was inside of collapsed, completely burying him, said the DA’s office.
Bethel contractor Michael Conway, 60, who was the site supervisor at the residential construction project in Mamaroneck, pled guilty Friday to one count of second-degree reckless endangerment after prosecutors in New York said he failed to take precautions while digging a 9-foot trench, causing it to collapse and bury Vega, the DA’s office said.
The charge is a class A misdemeanor, the DA’s office said, which is punishable by up to one year in jail.
“Were it not for the complete disregard for federal safety standards, Mr. Vega might still be alive today. Instead, he was buried alive, in part due to Mr. Conway’s recklessness,” said Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace in the statement.
“This case, the first of its kind in Westchester County, should send a message to everyone in the construction industry: Safety standards are there for a reason, and we will not hesitate to pursue cases where they are violated,” she said.
The fatal accident occurred the afternoon of May 4, 2021.
Prosecutors say Conway told two workers to dig a trench “without proper shoring or cave-in protections in place” during construction at a residential site on Shore Acres Drive in Mamaroneck, the statement said.
The statement said Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations require trenches at least 5 feet in depth be constructed with safety measures, including cave-in protections, the statement said.
The trench collapsed while Vega was inside it. He was pronounced dead at the scene, the statement said.
The statement said as site supervisor, Conway knew the trench excavation was in violation of OSHA regulations.
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