PITTSBURGH (AP) — A Pennsylvania plumber who pleaded guilty to violating federal workplace regulations before a trench collapse that killed a man has been placed on probation for two years.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette <a target=”—blank” href=”http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2018/02/21/Beaver-County-plumber-sentenced-trench-collapse-death-wayne-george-federal-court-pittsburgh-freedom-a-rooter-man/stories/201802210130″>reports</a> that 67-year-old Wayne George, of Hookstown, apologized in court Wednesday, saying he wishes he could have traded places with the worker who died.
Twenty-one-year-old Jacob Casher was helping install a sewer line when an 11-foot-deep trench collapsed in September 2015, killing him.
George said he ran into an unexpected conduit and stopped work, intending to bring cave-in protection equipment the next day, but Casher had climbed down into the trench without his knowledge.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Cynthia Reed Eddy cited his remorse, poor health and an $87,000 fine in sparing him jail time.
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Information from: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, <a target=”—blank” href=”http://www.post-gazette.com”>http://www.post-gazette.com</a>