HOLDENVILLE – A federal agency has launched an investigation into the death of a Holdenville man who was killed in a trench while repairing a sewer line on April 10.
Juan Rodriguez, a spokesman for the Dallas Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor confirmed Friday that the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration had initiated an investigation into the death of Jose Valenzuela, an employee of the Dawson Does It Plumbing Company.
“At this point all we can do is confirm OSHA has an open and ongoing investigation into the fatal accident,” Rodriguez said in an email to Southwest Ledger. “We won’t be able to provide any additional details until the investigation is complete.”
Valenzuela, 48, died sometime between 3:45 and 11:20 p.m. after being trapped in a narrow trench near the intersection of Vorhees and Third streets. Valenzuela moved to Oklahoma in 1997 and had lived in Holdenville for 15 years.
Holdenville Police Chief Kyle Lening issued a statement on Tuesday, April 11, which said the county’s central dispatch office received a call about the accident and sent emergency crews to the area. The department said Valenzuela was part of a local crew attempting to replace a sewer line when the trench they were working in collapsed.
“Emergency crews from multiple agencies responded to the scene, including trench and evacuation rescue teams from the Seminole and Ada fire departments,” Lening’s statement said. He said the police department was working with OSHA and the state Medical Examiner’s Office.
“At the time we got there, we were obviously trying to rescue him,” Lening said to an Oklahoma City television station. “At one point we realized that it was no longer a rescue attempt and was a recovery.”
Lening said the effort was complicated due to the number of active gas pipelines, water mains and other pipelines in the trench. “That prevented equipment and things from getting in there safely, possibly rupturing them,” he said. “So that’s when they called the teams that are trained that had the resources for this kind of recovery operation.”
While some versions of the accident said Valenzuela was working on a city project, Holdenville’s former mayor, John Massad, said Valenzuela was working for the homeowner. “They were not working for the city,” he said. “It was a private arraignment.”
Valenzuela’s family said he was working for the Dawson Does It Plumbing Company. Attempts to reach the company regarding the matter have been unsuccessful.
OSHA records show that 121 Oklahoma workers died in job-related accidents between 2017 and 2022. Federal rules require that fatalities be reported to OSHA within eight hours of the event. The agency said its investigations can take up to six months to complete and to determine whether or not a citation will be issued.
Jason Hudson, the OSHA Consultation Director for the Oklahoma Department of Labor said all fatal work-related accidents were investigated at the federal level.
Hudson said his agency provides consultations and worksite input and training for employers who request assistance.
A funeral service for Valenzuela was held Saturday evening at the First Baptist Church of Holdenville.