JEFFERSON COUNTY — The construction worker who died Friday when a trench in a Lakewood subdivision collapsed around him has been identified as 45-year-old Longmont man Jose Hernandez Cortes, the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office said Sunday.
Deputy Coroner Carl Blesch said the cause of death is still under investigation.
At 3:06 Friday afternoon, Cortes and another man were digging the trench as part of a patio foundation in the Solterra development when an unsupported dirt wall collapsed.
Cortes was buried 10 feet deep, according to Mike Murphy, deputy chief of operations for West Metro Fire Rescue.
The other man escaped with minor injuries after being partially buried.
When crews arrived Friday at 14904 W. Evans Place, they found Cortes’ co-workers and others trying to dig him out. It took crews 15 minutes to remove Cortes, who was taken to St. Anthony Hospital and later pronounced dead.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will join in investigating the workplace death.
