Workers warned Ohio trench was too deep but were told to enter minutes before fatal cave-in: report

Workers replacing a storm drain at an Ohio job site warned that a trench had become dangerously deep, but federal investigators say they were told to enter it anyway — minutes before it collapsed, killing one worker and severely injuring two others.

Jose Alberto Barajas Martinez, 28, was killed in the Dec.

5 collapse near Milford.

OSHA later found the roughly 8-foot-deep trench had no protection against a cave-in, despite federal rules requiring safeguards for trenches deeper than 5 feet, according to records obtained by the Cincinnati Enquirer .

Whispering Creek LLC, the landscaping company on the job, was cited for five safety violations and initially fined $231,714, the report said.

The penalty was later reduced to $49,000 as Clermont County prosecutors consider possible criminal charges.

WOMAN DIES AFTER FALLING INTO UNCOVERED MANHOLE OUTSIDE LUXURY STORES Company owner David Baumgardner was at the site and knew the trench's depth and layout, the paper reported.

He told investigators he had used cave-in protections on previous jobs.

Asked why he did not use a trench box, Baumgardner said the workers were not deep enough.

Investigators accused Baumgardner of "conscious disregard," saying he knew the safety requirements but failed to follow them.

They also cited his explanation about the trench's depth as evidence of "plain indifference," according to the paper.

Baumgardner told the newspaper that Barajas Martinez was his friend and that his death had deeply affected him.

"I actually saved one of the workers myself," he said.

MISSING GRANDMA BELIEVED TO HAVE FALLEN IN SINKHOLE WHILE SEARCHING FOR LOST CAT: 'NEVER CAME BACK' The three men were installing corrugated pipe in a residential yard when the trench collapsed around 3:30 p.m., FOX19 Cincinnati reported in December.