City of Milpitas, along with the Milpitas police and fire departments, is investigating why a construction worker was trapped and killed under a collapsed wall on Calaveras Ridge Drive Saturday after crews had been given a stop work order.

Staff from the city's Building and Safety Department responded to a call related to a fatal accident at the construction site of a residence located at 814 Calaveras Ridge Dr. at 10:30 a.m. Jan. 28.

A worker was crushed in a 10- to 12-foot deep trench that had been cut for placement of a future foundation of a retaining wall due to the sliding of unstable soil, which had been caused by the lack of shoring of the trench walls, staff said.

The Santa Clara County Coroner's Office identified the victim as 39-year-old Hayward resident Raul Zapata Tuesday morning.

Firefighters reported they were confronted with a "mountain of loose dirt" where Zapata had been trapped.

Although they made every effort to reach Zapata, they determined there was no way to get him out from under the dirt, reports state.

Firefighters then withdrew from the area to develop a safe recovery plan, according to reports.

Investigators from the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Milpitas police and the Santa Clara County Coroner's office were called to the scene, and by 10 p.m. it was determined another collapse of loose dirt would hinder further recovery efforts, reports state.

Plans were made Sunday to cover Zapata with a concrete

box and use an excavator to pull piles of dirt down to make the area safe.

Crews did not recover his body until Monday night.

According to Keyvan Irannejad, the city's chief building official, a building inspector issued a stop work notice on the site Jan. 25 after seeing moist dirt in the 12-foot high retaining wall.

Irannejad said workers with Fremont-based U.S. Sino Investments, Inc. were building a new 5,800 square-foot home inside the gated community.

Construction was in the early stages, and a 12-foot cut into the hillside was made for the foundation.

The stop work order required a soil engineer review to determine any require action and provide recommendations for shoring, according to Irannejad.

Despite the stop work notice, workers continued to work in the trench.

"The stop work order was hand delivered to the project manager on the site Wednesday," Irannejad said. "But on Saturday there were seven or eight people at the site working again."

He added he did not know why U.S. Sino employees continued to work on the site after the stop work order had been issued, and said he was still investigating that detail Tuesday morning.

Calls to Richard Liu, U.S. Sino's president, were not returned. Irannejad confirmed Liu was in China, and all company representatives were at Calaveras Ridge Drive.

Only city staff, Milpitas police officers and fire crews, as well as contractor employees were being allowed on site.

Milpitas police issued a press release at about 2:50 p.m. Tuesday stating investigators were working with Cal/OSHA to determine if charges would be filed.

Investigators from Cal/OSHA were unavailable.

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Hayward man killed in Milpitas retaining wall collapse in hills

One man is dead following a residential worksite accident in a gated community in the Milpitas hills Saturday. The worker was buried in a deep trench by a large amount of dirt after a retaining wall gave way at the home at 814 Calaveras Ridge Drive, according to a city official.

The body had not been removed as of Monday noon, according to a city source.

Keyvan Irannejad, chief building official with the Milpitas Building and Safety Department, provided the following information: "On Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, Building and Safety Department staff responded a call related to a fatal construction accident at the construction site of residence located at 814 Calaveras Ridge Drive. The worker was crushed in a 10 to 12 feet deep trench, cut for the future foundation placement, due to sliding of unstable soil, caused by the lack of shoring of the trench walls. Prior to the accident, on Wednesday, Jan. 25, Building and Safety Department inspector has issued a stop work notice sighting the lack of shoring and requiring review by the soils engineer to determine required action and provide recommendations for shoring. Despite of the stop work notice, work in the trench was continued, which led to the fatal accident. Building and Safety Department staff on the site met with and consulted with Milpitas Fire and Police departments' personnel and also contacted CAL-OSHA compliance engineer.

Currently, the project soil and structural engineers, and excavation company were contacted

to provide immediate remediation actions."

Fire Associates of Silicon Valley, who responded to the scene, posted the following on its website:

"Arriving firefighters were confronted with a mountain of loose dirt above the area where the worker was trapped, and bravely made access to the area where the worker was trapped. Once they reached the worker they discovered there was nothing they could do to help him, and withdrew from the area to work out a safe recovery plan.

"Investigators from Cal OSHA, Milpitas PD and the Santa Clara County Coroner's office were called to the scene. While investigators did their work fire department officials were working on recovery options ...

"By 10 p.m. (Saturday) it was determined the threat of further collapse of the loose dirt was too dangerous to continue the operation and operations were suspended for the evening. The plan for Sunday is to cover the worker with a concrete box and use an excavator to pull the piles of dirt down, rendering the area safe. Once the collapse threat was removed the excavator crews will be able to dig around the concrete box and complete the recovery operation."

The Milpitas police and fire departments have not issued a statement with more details yet. A fire department official said the Calaveras Ridge site is being treated as a crime scene.

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Design of retaining walls should address the stability of the hillside above and below a retaining wall. The stability of the hillside around a retaining wall is called global stability

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