Father of four dies after falling into a manhole

By Karli Barnett

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    ATLANTA, Georgia (WANF) — A north Georgia man has died after falling into a manhole while working.

Robert Hall, 34, worked at a plumbing company contracted to do a job at Armuchee High School in Rome. He lost his life Thursday when he fell into a manhole and was not able to be revived.

“He worked hard every day to provide for his family,” said John Burtz. He was going to be Hall’s future father-in-law.

Hall left behind his fiancé and four young children.

“They were getting married in October and had everything set,” said Burtz. “They were getting ready for a long and happy future.”

Burtz recounted getting the call from his stepdaughter Thursday, when he learned something had gone horribly wrong.

“She just said, ‘We need you. Please, God, get here fast,’” Burtz said with tears in his eyes. “And she said he had passed. We got here as quick as we could. It was devastating. He is literally one the of best people I’ve known ever in my life.”

Burtz said they were told Hall fell almost 20 feet when going down a ladder and that it took almost 45 minutes for crews to get him out due to the methane gas.

His family has created a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses.

Floyd County Schools Superintendent Dr. Glenn White issued a statement:

“It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we inform the Floyd County Schools’ community of a situation that occurred on July 12, 2023. Our school system learned about the death of an employee of a contracting company who was working at a job site at Armuchee High School’s campus. This accident has impacted our school system family and stakeholders in many ways and we are actively sending support to those directly affected by this. During this time, we have extended our deepest sympathies and condolences to the family. We also understand this is a difficult time for the company who lost this employee, and we would like to extend our thoughts to them and anyone else who knew and loved this individual.”

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