3 workers dead after coming in contact with toxic gas while doing repairs in Trinity Co.: Officials

TRINITY COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- The Trinity County Sheriff's Office confirmed that at least three men died after coming into contact with a toxic gas while conducting repairs in the area on Wednesday evening.

The incident happened near the Westwood Shores area at around 3 p.m.

Officials said that one of the men went down a manhole to prevent sewage from backing up into their work area, before the other two followed. The sheriff's office stated that the latter died as heroes.

"I think these are all heroes, trying to save each other," said Deputy Chief Jeremy Carroll, with the Trinity County Sheriff's office.

Shortly after, officials said the effort to retrieve turned into a recovery effort.

First responders at the scene said they found hydrogen sulfide gas inside where the men were. According to the National Library of Medicine, it is highly flammable and is known for its 'rotten egg' smell.

"It is our understanding that the crew that was doing this work was not supposed to be doing any underground or not equipped or outfitted for that type of work, their job was simply the work order for the motor that was above ground," Deputy Chief Carroll said.

The company, H2O Innovation, stated that two of the victims were their employees and the third victim was a contractor.

"Then the third gentleman with HydroClear went after them. He fortunately had a gas reader on him, and when that gas reader started alerting to the presence of high levels of H2S, the hydro sulfate gas, he tried to climb his way out of the tunnel," Carroll said.

The sheriff's office identified them as 52-year-old John Nelson Sr of Cleveland, 46-year-old Bradley Wrightsman of Katy, and 47-year-old Brad Hutton of Willis, TX.

H2O Innovation said it is working with the sheriff's office to determine what led up to the victims' deaths and said it will release more information when it becomes available.

ABC13 found H2O Innovation had two serious violations and one repeat violation with OSHA in 2021.

OSHA records reveal that one of those violations was for not providing workers with a "safe means of egress" from a trench that was more than 4 feet deep at a site in Spring, and the other was for not providing proper protection from cave-ins at a site in Houston.

ABC13 contacted the company regarding the violations. They sent a statement:

"The health and safety of our employees is the most important thing to us. Over the last five years, we have increased our commitment in this area, placing a large emphasis on our health and safety group and adding employees to that team. We have not had a serious OSHA violation since 2021, and we continue to put our employees and their safety first by emphasizing training and education. The deaths of these beloved members of our team have been devastating for all of us, and we are focusing on doing everything we can to support their loved ones and our team members."

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