An employee with Shrock Premier Custom Construction of Loudonville died in a sewer pipe trenching accident on Monday. The incident occurred near the northbound Interstate 71 entrance off state Route 97 in Bellville.
Bellville Police Chief Ron Willey said, “We had one male that was trapped below ground and it has now become a recovery mission, unfortunately.”
The man was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Richland County Coroner Investigator Bob Ball.
The victim, Marvin Troyer, 32, of Holmesville, was working on a water-sewer project through the Richland County Sanitation Department that was contracted to Shrock Construction.
Joseph Shrock, owner of Shrock Construction, said Troyer was laying sewer pipe about 16-18 feet below ground in a steel trench box when a boulder rolled into the box and dirt collapsed around him.
He said Troyer was abiding by all of the safety procedures. “It was coincidental that that cave-in rolled a boulder into the end of the box,” he said. Shrock also said Troyer was a longtime employee and that they had been working on that project for about a week.
“I’d rather not have the business; I’d rather not have anything than to lose his life,” Shrock said.
Responding agencies included the Mansfield Fire Department, Springfield Township Fire Department, Ohio Department of Transportation, Bellville Police Department, Richland County Emergency Management Agency, Washington Township Fire Department, and the Richland County Sheriff’s Office.
Shrock noted that as a second generation business owner for 30 years, “We have never, ever in all of our construction had any serious accident, ever.”
