Craig M. Gouker died attempting to save Cesar Salazar from suffocation, Owings Mills, Maryland, August 16, 2006. At work on a paving job, Salazar, 22, entered the manhole of a belowground vault to retrieve a tool when he lost consciousness in the oxygen-deficient atmosphere and fell to the bottom of the 24-foot-deep vault. Nearby, Gouker, 47, his foreman, was alerted. After calling for help, Gouker climbed through the manhole and began to descend to Salazar. He too lost consciousness and fell to the bottom of the vault. Responding rescue personnel removed both men and then worked to resuscitate them. Both died of asphyxia.
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