Florida Rescue Crews Free Worker from Trench

It took just over three hours Tuesday afternoon for St. Johns County rescue personnel to free a construction worker stuck waist-deep in the mud in a 12-foot trench along Race Track Road.

The hole opened up and trapped Jose Garcia at around 12:15 p.m. Tuesday when a mound of dirt supporting pipes collapsed in a roadside trench about halfway between state Road 13 and Interstate 95.

Crews pumped water intrusion out of the hole while working to release the suction created by the mud.

"It's very time-consuming to try to get the water out of there and the mud of there," said Jeff Prevatt of St. Johns County Fire Rescue. "You can't get him out until you break the suction, and that's what they've been working out for a while."

Officials told Channel 4's Melanie Lawson that they finally brought in a backhoe to remove a large amount of mud to allow them to free the Garcia.

St. Johns County Fire-Rescue personnel said Garcia was never in danger, but it just took time and manpower to dig him out.

Garcia was treated at the scene by paramedics, then taken to Baptist Medical Center South, where he is reported to be in stable condition.

Garcia works for Berg Electrical Consulting, had no comment about the incident.

Representatives of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration responded and were trying to determine what caused the accident and if there were any workplace safety violations.