A Connecticut construction site supervisor has been indicted on a charge of felony criminally negligent homicide for the death of a worker in a trench collapse in New York in 2021.
Michael Conway, 59, director of project development for Lecher Development LLC, was also indicted on two misdemeanor charges of second-degree reckless endangerment, according to the Westchester County District Attorney.
The charges stem from the death of Jose Vega, 46, who was working in a 9-foot-deep trench around 12:30 p.m. May 4, 2021, in the Village of Mamaroneck, New York, when it collapsed and buried him.
Conway, as the site supervisor, “directed two workers to dig a trench without proper shoring or cave-in protections in place,” according to a news release from the D.A.’s office.
The trench was dug behind a house under construction and had accumulated water in it, according to investigative reports by the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Spoil piles were on the edge of the trench, and there was no safe means for entrance or exit from the trench. OSHA also determined that daily inspections by a competent person had not been performed before workers entered the trench and that workers had not been trained on trench safety.
Conway’s employer, Lecher Development of Norwalk, Connecticut, was cited by OSHA for one willful and four serious violations and was issued final penalties totaling $30,060.
Mickels Landscape Inc. of Darien, Connecticut, was cited for a repeat violation of not providing safe means of entrance and exit from a trench, as well as five serious violations similar to those issued to Lecher. In all, the company paid final penalties totaling $40,000. Mickels had previously paid a penalty of $1,619 in 2020 for failure to provide a safe way to enter or exit a trench on a construction site in 2019 in Norwalk, Connecticut, according to OSHA.
The charges announced February 26 by the D.A. focus solely on Conway.
“For the first time in Westchester County, we are seeking to hold a contractor accountable for the death of a worker at a construction site that allegedly lacked proper safety measures,” said District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah. “My office will seek justice for the family of Jose Vega and continue to ensure workers’ safety remains a priority across the county to prevent fatalities like this one.”
Criminal charges for trench fatalities are uncommon; typically, one to three a year in the U.S. Worker advocates have called for more criminal charges to stop what are viewed as preventable deaths.
“The addition of this criminal enforcement effort by the District Attorney sends an even stronger message that high-hazard industries, such as excavation, must follow safety standards,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Richard Mendelson. Mendelson joined the D.A. in announcing the charges and praised her for “pursuing this case vigorously and bringing criminal charges for a preventable workplace death.”
Conway was arrested by the Village of Mamaroneck Police Department and released on $5,000 cash bail, $10,000 bond and $25,000 partially secured bond at 10%.
His lawyer, Richard L. Ferrante, said he plans to file to dismiss the charges, according to an article on newstimes.com. He told a reporter that Conway was hired to locate a sewer line by the general contractor; the GC had hired a subcontractor to dig the trench and that Conway was not in a supervisory position over the excavation company.
Conway’s next court date is scheduled for March 22.
