Man dies after dirt collapses on him while making repairs at Spokane Valley home

A man was killed early Monday morning while installing new plumbing under his Spokane Valley home.

The man, whose identity has not been released, was working head first in a hole he had dug next to his home’s foundation when it collapsed, trapping him inside, said Melanie Rose, spokeswoman for Spokane Valley Fire Department.

Emergency crews were called to the house in the 600 block of S. Carnahan Road at 6:44 a.m., but by the time they arrived the man was already dead, Rose said.

“It’s a tragic accident,” Rose said. “As homeowners are getting busy on projects around their home, just know that soil weighs a lot. One square yard can weigh 800 pounds.”

Mark Gregory, deputy and spokesman for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, said the death was being treated as an accident.

“Dirt is extremely heavy,” he said. “With him being extended, working inside the hole, you can’t really do anything.”

The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office will release the man’s identity and cause of death, Rose said.