A burial vault crushed a worker to death at a Dallas funeral home Monday in a grim workplace accident.
Dallas Fire-Rescue responded shortly after 2 p.m. to Restland Funeral Home at 13005 Greenville Ave. Crews found a man pinned from the waist down by a burial vault, according to Jason Evans, a department spokesman, Dallas Morning News reported. The first arriving firetruck lifted the vault using a combination of spreaders and air bags. Firefighters typically use spreaders to open vehicles in accidents. (RELATED: ‘It Was A Guy Laying There In My Uncle’s Suit’: Family Accuses Funeral Home Of Temporarily Misplacing Corpse)
Paramedics transported the man to a hospital with serious injuries to his lower body. Evans reported shortly after 5 p.m. that the man had died. The victim was not publicly identified.
“We are saddened by the loss of our long-standing valued employee,” Jody Herrington, manager of operations at the funeral home, told the Daily Caller. “We are cooperating with the authorities to determine the cause. His family and his fellow Restland employees need our support, and we ask that we all give them space and time to grieve.”
Worker dies, pinned from waist down by burial vault at funeral home: https://t.co/OyM1MzLbi2 pic.twitter.com/bMb6JoJFFk
— Local 12/WKRC-TV (@Local12) October 21, 2025
Burial vaults are protective containers used to enclose caskets and coffins. They are most commonly made of concrete, but can also be made of plastic or steel.
Dallas Fire-Rescue dispatched its Urban Search and Rescue team to the scene. The adult male worker was trapped by the heavy vault before firefighters rescued him and transported him to the hospital with serious lower body injuries, according to KDFW.
The cause of the fatal accident is currently under investigation by authorities. It remains unclear what caused the vault to fall and trap the worker. Restland Funeral Home has not released a statement about the incident, according to Dallas Morning News.
Dallas Fire-Rescue said it had no additional details to add in a statement to the Caller.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include a statement from Restland Funeral Home.