Three men now face involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the death of another man three years ago in a trench collapse at a construction site in San Francisco.
On Monday, the SF District Attorney's Office announced that charges have been filed against three men: 64-year-old John Finbarr Darcy of San Francisco, 39-year-old John William Tobin of San Francisco, and 52-year-old Filiberto Poblano Perez of Richmond. The trio now faces involuntary manslaughter and violations of safety standards charges stemming from resulting in the death of an employee.
The company the three all work for, D’Arcy & Harty Construction, Inc., was charged as well.
On the morning of September 28, 2023, a crew from D’Arcy & Harty was working under contract to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission on a sewer tunnel rehabilitation project. According to the DA's office, the crew had dug a trench near the intersection of Divisadero and Oak streets, on the 1100 block of Oak Street, that was two and a half feet wide, five feet long, and eight feet deep.
"The trench was not properly supported, and when a vehicle drove by, it collapsed," prosecutors say. "The victim, who was buried in the resulting cave-in, died of mechanical asphyxia."
Perez was the crew foreman that day, supervising the victim, who was identified at the time of the accident as 25-year-old Javier Romero of Alameda County. Tobin was the project manager, and Darcy had been designated as the site safety representative by the company.
"The Cal/OSHA inspector who reviewed the fatality concluded that the 8-foot-deepexcavation in which the victim died was not properly supported, in violation of the safety regulations governing excavations found in Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations," the DA's Office says. "The short sides of the trench facing Oak Street on one side and facing a building on the other side were completely unsupported. The long sides of the excavation running perpendicular to Oak Street were only partially supported."
Also, the DA's Office adds, just three weeks before the accident, D’Arcy & Harty had been the subject of a safety complaint at a different project site regarding an inadequately supported trench.
Perez and Darcy have been arraigned and both have pleaded not guilty to all charges. They've been released on their own recognizance pending trial, under the condition that they do not work in any capacity overseeing a construction site. They also all surrendered their passports and were ordered not communicate with witnesses or each other.
It's not clear when Tobin will be arraigned, or why he hasn't been already.
Although charges have been filed, this remains an active investigation, and the DA's office asks that anyone with information should call 628-652-4000.
