Emergency workers speculate that after the first victim was overcome Monday, the others climbed into the pit in a frantic rescue attempt. “It was a domino effect with one person going in, the second person going after them,” Rockingham County Sheriff Don Farley said.
Farley identified the victims as Scott Showalter, 34; his wife, Phyillis, 33; their daughters Shayla, 11, and Christina, 9; and Amous Stoltzfus, 24, who worked at the Showalters’ dairy farm in the Briery Branch community. The couple also had two younger daughters.
The accident began when Scott Showalter tried to transfer manure from one small pit to a larger one, measuring 20 feet by 20 feet and 8 feet deep.
The pipe that was transferring the manure became clogged, and Showalter climbed in the pit to fix the blockage, Farley said.
“It was probably something he had done a hundred times,” Farley said. “There was gas in there and he immediately succumbed.”
News Article
Carbon neutral pledge: