EAGLE MOUNTAIN, Utah, May 28, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) -- A 19-year-old construction worker died in Eagle Mountain Tuesday afternoon after he was hit in the head by the bucket of an excavator being operated by a coworker.
The incident happened at about 2:30 p.m. at a site on Blackbird Drive, Sgt. Raymond Ormond, Utah County Sheriff's Office, told Gephardt Daily.
"He had jumped down into a trench to move some pipes down the bottom of the trench," Ormond said.
"Another individual that was operating an excavator did not see that the 19-year-old had jumped down into the trench, and began to try to dig in the same location with the excavator.
"Unfortunately, the 19-year-old male was hit in the head with a bucket of the excavator and was killed."
A spotter for the excavator operator, assigned to keep an eye on the scene as the excavator worked, had tried to get the operator's attention, Ormond said.
"But by the time he did, the accident already occurred."
The teen died on the scene.
"Our detectives and the Medical Examiner's Office and OSHA have all been out on scene. They're still working on a few things, but from the preliminary investigation, it looks like it was just a very tragic accident that occurred."
Ormand said the crew was small and close.
"They're all friends who work with each other, and they work very well together, so it just appears to be a tragic accident," Ormond said.
