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Western Berks Water Authority employee Cody Gipprich, 38, of Shillington, was doing routine work in a constructed pit with a colleague on Cambridge Avenue near Meadow Lane around 8:30 a.m. in Wyomissing on Wednesday, WFMZ reports.
At some point, a pipe or valve failed, causing high-pressure water to shoot out on Gipprich, the outlet reports.
Gipprich's coworkers and bystanders rushed to help him before crews pulled his body from the narrow pit, approximately 8 feet deep, the WFMZ says.
A GoFundMe campaign was launched for Gipprich's wife, Jamie, and had raised more than $26,500 as of Friday.
"Jami and Cody were one of those couples you just knew God put on this earth to be together," reads the campaign, launched by a group of friends. "Now she is faced with living her life without him."
Condolences poured in.
The incident briefly disrupted water service in Shillington, West Reading, Wyomissing, and Bern Township.
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