Man rescued from trench talking, moving toes

SEATTLE -- A man who was trapped in an 8-foot trench filled with dirt, concrete and asphalt has been freed.

Kelley Vielle was trapped at a construction site in the 2900 block of SW Avalon Way in West Seattle on Wednesday afternoon.

Vielle had been working in the parking lot of several businesses when one side of the trench collapsed.

He was found trapped about 6 feet down in the trench, pinned from his waist down just before 4 p.m. He was alert and communicating with rescuers.

Fire spokesperson Helen Fitzpatrick said several large trucks sucked much of the the dirt out of the trench.

Several members of the technical rescue team, meanwhile, made their way into the trench and shored up the sides of the trench in order to stabilize it.

Medics were also on hand to keep the man hydrated and provide him with pain medication.

Vielle was taken to an area hospital. The extent of his injuries are not known, but family members said he was on oxygen, able to talk and able to move his toes Wednesday night.

"He's covered completely with dirt and I got to washed his face. I got a warm towel and they let me wash his face," said sister Stella Casey.

Casey said Vielle's family members were a wreck during the two-hour rescue, not sure their loved one would make it.

"'Oh my God,' that's what I thought when the officers were talking to me. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't breathe just thinking about my brother," Casey said tearfully.

Family members said when the wall came crashing down, Vielle managed to get out of the way just in time. They're now anxious to find out what went wrong before someone else gets hurt.

"I have a family long-working in construction. My fiance is a bricklayer and walls don't just crumble. There had to have been something, a mistake happen there or something," said niece Memorie Guardippe.