Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNLWorker dies after being partially buried by dirt

Worker dies after being partially buried by dirt

Posted: Updated:
As many as three workers were partially buried in dirt and rock at Waialae Iki construction site As many as three workers were partially buried in dirt and rock at Waialae Iki construction site
Capt. Terry Seelig Capt. Terry Seelig
Lt. Clinton Sukekane Lt. Clinton Sukekane

By Brooks Baehr - bio | email

WAIALAE IKI RIDGE (HawaiiNewsNow) - A construction accident on Waialae Iki Ridge may have triggered a man's death Tuesday morning.

The victim, identified by coworkers as Gilbert Macalma, was part of a team digging a trench at the site of a new home on Pi'imauna Place. They planned to pour concrete in the trench to support a new cinder block wall. While they were working, part of the trench collapsed.

"There were three workers in the hole, in the trench. Two of the workers were able to get out and then dig the third worker out. At that time it looks like he shortly later suffered some kind of medical problem," said Honolulu police Lt. Clinton Sukekane who responded to the scene.

The accident was reported at about 8:30 a.m. By 10:30 a.m. Macalma had been taken to the Queen's Medical Center and pronounced dead.

His coworkers say he was only buried up to his thighs and they can't understand why he suddenly had trouble breathing - then died. Some say he may have been hit by a falling rock. Others suspect he suffered a heart attack.

Police have classified the death as an industrial accident. A representative from the Honolulu Medical Examiner's office went to the scene to get a better understanding of what happened. The ME will perform an autopsy hoping to determine the cause of death.

An investigator with the state Occupational Health and Safety Administration was also expected to investigate.

Copyright 2012 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved

  • Most ReadMost Read

  • Tuesday, May 22 2012 4:27 PM EDT2012-05-22 20:27:09 GMT
    A&E has canceled its hit reality television series "Dog the Bounty Hunter." The following is an exclusive statement from Duane 'Dog' Chapman and his wife Beth to Hawaii News Now: Prior to A & E making
    A&E has canceled its hit reality television series "Dog the Bounty Hunter." Averaging two million viewers per episode, the show is one of the most popular reality shows in television history.  

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 7:19 PM EDT2012-05-23 23:19:37 GMT
    Maui police say a man is dead following a shooting in the parking lot of the Mana Kai Maui resort in Kihei. The shooting happened around 11 a.m. according to paramedics who were dispatched to the scene
    A man suspected of trying to elude police in a stolen car was shot and killed by a Maui police officer Tuesday afternoon in the parking lot of the Mana Kai Maui resort in Kihei.

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 10:01 AM EDT2012-05-23 14:01:20 GMT
    A disturbing surveillance video of a father placing his baby in a washing machine and turning it on is making the rounds on the internet.
    Officials from Camden, NJ are looking to identify and speak to the parents who put their baby in a washing machine at a laundromat.

  • Tuesday, May 22 2012 9:50 AM EDT2012-05-22 13:50:31 GMT
    Lonnell Reginald Wideman, ex-husband of missing Waipahu woman Loida Gabon Wideman, will spend at least 45 more days incarcerated at the Oahu Community Correctional Center before the parole board will consider
    Lonnell Reginald Wideman, ex-husband of missing Waipahu woman Loida Gabon Wideman, will spend at least 45 more days incarcerated at the Oahu Community Correctional Center...

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 3:08 AM EDT2012-05-23 07:08:44 GMT
    By JACQUES BILLEAUD Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) - Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has sent 1 of his deputies to Hawaii to accompany an official in his volunteer posse investigating President Barack
    The state of Hawaii has verified President Barack Obama's birth records to Arizona's elections chief after a nearly three-month back and forth that Arizona officials said could have ended without the incumbent's name on its November ballot.