Worker Killed in Kansas Trench Collapse

By: Maddie Carr
Source: The Kansas City Star (TNS)
Video: KMBC 9

Police have publicly identified the man killed after a trench collapsed at a worksite Thursday in Kansas City, Kansas.

Francisco Rodriguez, 54, of Kansas City, Kansas, was killed in the incident, according to Nancy Chartrand, a spokesperson with the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department. Rodriguez worked for K&W Underground, a telecommunications contractor in Olathe, Kansas, company president Bill Reidy confirmed with The Star Friday.

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“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the family, friends, and coworkers of the deceased during this incredibly difficult time. We are doing everything we can to support those affected by this tragedy,” he said in a press release.

Rodriguez was reportedly operating an excavator on a fiber optic installation project and fell into the trench when it collapsed. After not being seen for “some time,” Rodriguez’s coworkers became concerned when they noticed his equipment wasn’t moving, according to an earlier news release by Scott Schaunaman, a Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department spokesperson.

Hazard cones and caution tape surround construction equipment alongside a trench blocked off by orange netting near 16th Street and Metropolitan Avenue on Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Kansas City, Kansas. (Emily Curiel/ecuriel@kcstar.com) — Hazard cones and caution tape surround construction equipment alongside a trench blocked off by orange netting near 16th Street and Metropolitan Avenue on Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Kansas City, Kansas. (Emily Curiel/[email protected])

The workers later realized that the trench had collapsed, the release said.

Emergency crews, who were dispatched to the area around 2:15 p.m on Thursday, recovered Rodriguez around 11:45 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Schaunaman said the trench is located in “uneven terrain” and estimated to be between 16 to 18 feet wide and up to 25 feet deep at it’s deepest.

The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department’s Major Case Unit has opened a death investigation, according to Chartrand. The Occupational Safety Health Administration and other agencies are investigating the cause of the collapse, she said.

K&W Underground is “fully cooperating” with agencies in their investigations of the incident, Reidy said in the release.

“Safety is our highest priority, and we are committed to understanding exactly what happened and taking all necessary actions to prevent such a tragedy from ever occurring again,” he said.