A California soccer player has been identified as the worker killed when a trench collapsed without warning at a Central Valley jobsite.
Pablo Gomez, a 34-year-old excavation worker, died after being trapped underground for hours in Friday’s collapse in Hickman, prompting a large-scale rescue operation.
Gomez played goalkeeper for Modesto City Football Club in 2019 and 2020. The team remembered its former player in a message shared online.
“This is a very sad day for the [Modesto City Football Club] family and the Modesto, California area,” the club said. “Our condolences go out to the family.”
A GoFundMe campaign created for Gomez described him as “a very joyful, loved young man who loved to dance and loved to have a good time.” It added that he was “always with a smile, brightening everyone’s day.”
The fundraiser also called Gomez “a great friend, son, brother, uncle, cousin and father,” saying his death had caused loved ones “a profound sadness that is hard to fathom.”
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health is investigating what caused the trench to collapse and the circumstances surrounding the fatal incident.
The Hickman death follows another fatal trench collapse in California.
Two workers were killed in August when a trench gave way at a construction site in Stockton.
