Pablo Gomez, 34, has been identified as the excavation worker killed when a trench collapsed on a Central Valley job site last Friday.
The Hickman incident pinned Gomez underground for hours and set off an extensive rescue operation that ultimately failed to save him. Cal/OSHA, the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, has opened an investigation into what caused the fatal cave-in.
Before working in excavation, Gomez had been a goalkeeper for Modesto City Football Club during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. The club posted a statement mourning its former player.
“This is a very sad day for the [Modesto City Football Club] family and the Modesto, California area,” the club wrote. “Our condolences go out to the family.”
A GoFundMe fundraiser launched to support Gomez’s relatives offered a fuller portrait of the man behind the uniform and hard hat. The campaign described him as “a very joyful, loved young man who loved to dance and loved to have a good time,” adding he was “always with a smile, brightening everyone’s day.”
The same fundraiser memorialized Gomez’s place in a wide network of loved ones, calling him “a great friend, son, brother, uncle, cousin and father.” His death, the campaign stated, had left that circle with “a profound sadness that is hard to fathom.”
The Hickman death is the second fatal trench collapse in California this summer. Two workers died in August when a trench gave way at a Stockton construction site, a tragedy that preceded Gomez’s by mere weeks and intensified scrutiny of excavation safety practices statewide.
Gomez’s dual identity as both a club athlete and a tradesman has drawn particular attention to the risks faced by workers in one of California’s most hazardous occupations. Trench collapses rank among the deadliest incidents in construction, with soil capable of suffocating or crushing trapped workers within minutes.
Cal/OSHA investigators are expected to examine whether proper shoring, sloping or shielding systems were in place at the Hickman site at the time of the collapse. The agency has not indicated how long its probe will take.
The Modesto club has not announced any formal tribute beyond its public statement of condolence. The GoFundMe campaign remains active for supporters seeking to assist Gomez’s family with immediate expenses.