Worker lucky to be alive after Howell ground collapse

HOWELL - A 26-year-old laborer is lucky to be alive, after he fell into a 10-foot hole in the ground Thursday and spent three hours trapped there, surrounded by dirt up to his neck.

Some quick-thinking police officers and a team effort by specially trained firefighters and other rescuers prevented the incident from becoming a fatality, police said. Meanwhile, a bilingual emergency medical technician was able to speak to the trapped man in Spanish and keep him calm while rescuers worked to extricate him, police said.

The man was working for a company digging a footing for a deck in the rear of a home on Carmine Way when, about 3:25 p.m. Thursday, the ground collapsed around him, and he became trapped in a 10-foot hole, Detective Sgt. Peter Kuppler said in a news release Friday.

When police arrived, the victim was surrounded by dirt up to his shoulders, the news release said. The first responding officers, James Conaty, Richard Robertiello and Joseph Sulewski acted quickly and made a barrier out of used construction debris to build a shield around the man’s head and face. That prevented more dirt from collapsing around the man, allowing him to breathe, the news release said.

Despite a language barrier between rescuers and the victim, township police emergency medical technician Valerie Deano spoke to victim in Spanish and was able to keep him calm throughout the ordeal, the news release said.

Meanwhile, Howell police Sgt. Paul Mazzeo, a volunteer fire chief in Brick who is specially trained in trench collapse and rescue and serves on the Brick Township Technical Rescue team and a New Jersey search and rescue task force, responded and immediately began shoring up the hole, the news release said. He summoned the Brick rescue team and a trench rescue unit from the Asbury Park Fire Department to the scene to assist.

After about three hours, the victim was extricated from the hole, walking out without injuries, the news release said. He was assessed on the scene by township first aid personnel and Atlantic Health paramedics and taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center as a precaution. Police did not release his identity.

Two rescuers were treated at the scene for minor injuries suffered in the rescue.

“All responding units had a direct impact with preventing a fatality during this incident,’’ the news release said.

Other agencies responding to the emergency included the Freewood Acres and Southard fire departments, the township and Monmouth County public works departments and township Office of Emergency Management.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the accident. 

Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@app.com.