A construction worker was crushed to death inside a trench Sept. 2 at a Sand Springs job site, the Sand Springs Police Department said.

The man was working alone in the trench while the rest of his crew was at lunch, according to police. Sand Springs firefighters responded around noon to the site near West Morrow Road, where crews had been working on a parking lot next to a restaurant being built, News On 6 reported. Police blocked off part of the parking lot as multiple agencies worked the scene.

First responders determined the man had died at the scene.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is on-site and investigating the incident, according to KTUL. Police have not released the victim's name, identified the construction company or disclosed details about the trench depth or whether protective systems such as shoring or trench boxes were in place.

The trench collapse marks the second fatal workplace incident in Sand Springs in less than a week. On Aug. 27, an explosion at Morrow Gill Business Park killed two people. A suspect in that case was arrested on drug charges Sept. 1.

Trench collapses are among the deadliest hazards in construction. A cubic meter of soil can weigh 3,000 pounds, and survival time in a collapsed trench can be as little as one minute if there are no air pockets, according to the Confined Space newsletter. OSHA has maintained trenching and excavation safety standards for more than 40 years requiring employers to prevent collapses. Nationally, 17 workers were killed in trench collapses in 2025, the highest total since 2022, the newsletter reported in January.

OSHA has not announced a timeline for completing its investigation.