The owner of a defunct construction company pleaded guilty Thursday to manslaughter for the death of a worker, his employee, in a 2021 trench collapse in Breckenridge.

Peter Dillon, 54, of Gypsum, entered the plea in Summit County District Court in the death of 23-year-old Marlon Alfredo Diaz, according to a district attorney’s office news release.

Diaz was an employee of A4S Construction when on Nov. 16, 2021, he died in the work site incident. Dillon was the owner of the company and responsible for the job site, the DA’s release said.

Dillon’s company did not have a written safety and health program, and it didn’t conduct safety audits or inspections at worksites, including the Breckenridge site where Diaz died, prosecutors said.

“Business owners and supervisors have a responsibility to properly train and protect their employees from unsafe job conditions,” said Heidi McCollum, district attorney, in the release. “The reality is that this tragedy was 100% preventable. Employers who chose to take short cuts to save money at the expense of the safety of their employees must be held accountable.”

Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 9.

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