WYOMING, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – The 30-year-old son of a 53-year-old Fennville man working with his father on repairing a sewer line at a suburban Grand Rapids location has been identified as having being killed when the trench they were in collapsed on Monday afternoon.
Members of the Grand Rapids Trench Rescue Team needed nearly three hours to reach the body of Christopher James Godfrey, who had been completely buried outside of a residence in the area of Jordan Street and Division Avenue in Wyoming. His father, Russell Lee Godfrey, was partially buried by the collapse of the eight- to 10-foot trench and was taken to an undisclosed hospital for treatment.
Investigators say that the trench’s walls were not reinforced. When the collapse occurred a neighbor heard the cries of the older man calling for help. The incident remains under investigation by the Wyoming Fire Department and the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
