A 400-pound slab of pavement fell into the ditch and landed on the back of Leroy Pritchard, 46, of Hamptonburgh, N.Y., who was working on a sewer line. He was killed in the incident. His body was pulled from an almost seven-foot deep ditch.

OSHA has issued citations against Olana Design and Construction, Inc. and A Quick Cut Landscaping. Each was assessed proposed penalty of $13,950 and each has contested them, according to Terry Harding, OSHA assistant area director.

The citations included failure of the employer to instruct each employee in the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions; the workers were not protected by helmets and insulated gloves while working underground and not knowing the exact location of underground electric power lines; there were no precautions taken to prevent contact with buried 12,000 volt cable while cutting or drilling rock; a stairway, ladder, rope or other safe means of egress was not located in trench excavation that were four feet or move in depth; employees were not protected from adjacent undermined pavement; employees were not protected from loose rock or soil that could fall into the ditch; employees were not protected from cave ins by an adequate protective system; and daily inspections were not named by a ?EUR??,,????'??competent person?EUR??,,????'?? for evidence of a situation that could result in cave ins or other problems.

The OSHA report said each citation was corrected during inspection.