Authorities on Friday released the identity of a 62-year-old man who died after being buried under several feet of gravel at the Box Elder County gravel pit near Tremonton.
Sheriff's Sgt. Mike Johnson identified the man as Elwyn Nelson of Thatcher, who had worked for the county for 28 years.On Thursday, gravel pit workers had backed a rock-crushing machine up to a large mound of gravel. A 4-foot-wide, 6-foot-deep hole is created in the process of moving the gravel from the mound into the machine, Johnson said.
He said the machine apparently became clogged with sagebrush and other debris and workers were trying to unclog it near the hole. One of the workers apparently lost his balance and Nelson tried to pull him back, then lost his balance and fell into the hole.
Johnson said as the workers were trying to dig Nelson out, more gravel apparently fell from the hill, covering him.
"It was not a tremendous weight, but it was enough to cut him off from the outside world," he said.
Workers spent 20 minutes trying to pull him out before the ambulance arrived.
Nelson was taken by ambulance to Bear River Valley Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 11:12 a.m., a hospital spokeswoman said.
John Collom, county road crew supervisor, said crushing rocks is a routine task performed several times a week.