Worker’s body found after being buried in trash at landfill

KERSEY, Pa. – The body of a missing Pennsylvania landfill worker who was buried when a mound of garbage and dirt slid down onto him has been found.

Pennsylvania State Trooper Bruce Morris says 49-year-old William Pierce’s body was found Friday afternoon under roughly 40 feet of trash at the Greentree Landfill near Kersey.

Pierce was driving a garbage compactor when trash slid down and covered the machine Wednesday.

Elk County Coroner Michelle Muccio says Pierce likely died of blunt force trauma to the head, but the official cause won’t be determined until Saturday’s autopsy.

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection records show the landfill was fined in 2015 for not being designed in a way to prevent hazards. It’s unclear what those hazards were, but a spokesman for landfill owner Advanced Disposal says that’s not believed to be related to Wednesday’s accident.