re: Today's nightmare scenario: Cemetery worker buried alive in New York grave mishap

quote:

---

How long does it take to dig a 6 foot person out of a 7 foot grave?

---

quote:

---

Now let's consider a worker subjected to a cave-in. Assume that one yard of dirt weighing perhaps 2,500 pounds, falls off a trench lip six feet overhead. It takes about 0.6 seconds for the dirt to fall six feet and we would expect it to reach a speed of about 20 feet per second or 14 miles per hour when it strikes the worker.

Next time you drive, notice how fast 14 mph is. Imagine the trauma you would suffer if you were struck by a ton of weight traveling at that speed. The result of the impact would probably be broken bones, stretched or broken ligaments, internal bleeding, and lacerated or punctured organs. Immediately following the impact, the soil surrounds and traps you. This combination of blunt force trauma and crushing weight is rarely survivable. Death may not be immediate but the processes that lead to death will have begun.

---