TENDOY — A local man has been charged after a workplace incident resulted in the death of a coworker.
Douglas Usher was charged with one felony count of involuntary manslaughter, which carries the potential punishment of up to 10 years in prison.
According to court documents, on June 30, 2024, a Lemhi County Sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to an area near Tendoy after a man had fallen into a hole and was unresponsive.
When the deputy arrived, CPR was performed, and the man was taken to Steele Memorial Medical Center in Salmon. The deputy spoke with the other person who saw the incident, who was later identified as Usher.
The document states Usher and the victim were working for a construction company to install a septic tank. Upon digging the hole, which was six to seven feet deep, Usher had used the excavator to lift the victim out of the hole throughout the dig.
Usher told the deputy that on the last lift out of the hole, the victim had jumped out of it and hit the hole’s ledge, causing him to fall back. The victim was found unconscious due to the fall.
The documents state the hospital informed the deputy that the man had later died. An autopsy was performed and found that the man had died from “blunt force trauma of the neck.” The victim had also sustained a fractured vertebra in his neck.
Usher is scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge Andrew Woolf for a preliminary hearing on July 15 at 4 p.m.
Though Usher has been charged with these crimes, this does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
