'He Didn't Deserve to Die in That Hole': Family Speaks After Trench Collapse

The family of a man who died after a trench collapsed on him said his employer did not take enough precautions to keep him safe.

Related: Holdenville Man Dead After Trench Collapses While On Job

The Holdenville Police Department said Jose Valenzuela was part of a local contractor’s crew that was replacing a sewer line at a home when the trench they were working in collapsed, trapping Valenzuela.

The accident happened near the intersection of Vorhees Street and Third Penn West Street. Police said the 911 call came at about 3:46 p.m. Monday.

Trench and excavation rescue teams from Seminole and Ada Fire Departments had to be called in to bring Valenzuela out, said police. But when crews retrieved Valenzuela from the trench at about 11:20 p.m., he had already passed away.

"He didn't deserve to die in that hole for somebody else to make money," said Valenzuela's son, Bradley Burton.

Valenzuela's family said they were frustrated that it took nearly eight hours to bring him out.

"It was more of a try to find his body instead of try to save his life. They should of tried to help him. He had a small chance, if they could have worked fast enough, of him still being alive," said Burton. "At the end of it, they had an HVAC (sic) truck come suck the dirt off the top of him, which should of happened in the first place instead of them wasting all the time to lead up to that."

But Police Chief Kyle Lening said there were safety challenges.

"The hole was continuing to collapse upon itself, so we had to remove anyone that was down there out of the way to prevent any other additional injuries," said Lening.

Lening said there were also obstacles that made the operation more difficult.

"Due to the complexity of the trench they were in, there were pipelines, active gas pipelines, active water mains right there that prevented equipment and things from getting in there safely, possibly rupturing them," said Lening. "So that's they called the teams that are trained that had the resources for this kind of rescue or recovery operation.

Valenzuela's family said the business he was working for, Dawson Does It Plumbing, didn't take enough safety precautions.

"His boss should have never had him down in that hole to start with because it was not braced. It was way too deep. The hole was as wide as the shovel bucket on the tractor and they had him down there," said Burton. "No safety harness on him. No braces. Was his boss even here? No licensed plumber was here."

News 9 went with Burton and Valenzuela's wife to the home of the owner of Dawson Does it Plumbing Tuesday afternoon. But a woman who answered the door said he was not present.

Valenzuela would have turned 49 years old on May 11. He was the father of six children.

"My little sister is what, 5 years old? She loves her dad. Now, she's never going to get to see him again because she's autistic and she doesn't even know he passed away yet," said Burton.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was investigating the incident.

"Our hearts break for the family," Lening added.