Construction Accidents: Worker Killed in Accident at School

Juan Amendano, a day worker from Ecuador was killed when an eight-foot-deep trench collapsed at a Brooklyn elementary school. Amendano was so buried under dirt and debris that it took rescue workers nearly an hour to dig him out. Maria Mendana, Amendano's wife, said that her husband "was a very good handyman."

Construction Accident Kills Laborer at School

The accident occurred when Amendano and three other workers were waterproofing the foundation of the Leif Ericson Day School in New York. The trench collapsed as students were being let out for the day. Armendano's brother also was working at the site and jumped in the trench after it collapsed, but it was too late. David Offitto, an off-duty firefighter who came to the scene of the collapse, says that the tragedy was heart breaking: "You never want to see someone lose their life trying to make a day's living."