20-Year-Old Dies Trying to Save Co-Worker from Deadly Fumes

What started as a routine cleaning job ended in heartbreak for two Michigan families.

Daniel Hagle, 20, and Michael Kammer Jr., 21, were killed after being overcome by toxic fumes while working on a residential well in Clyde Township on February 17, according to the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities say deputies were called to a home on Cribbins Road after reports that two men had fallen unconscious while working beneath a porch. When first responders arrived, they were immediately hit with a strong chemical odor and had to temporarily pull back because of the dangerous air conditions.

Officials later determined that a chemical reaction inside the well released hydrogen sulfide gas — a highly toxic substance known for its rotten egg smell and its ability to quickly overwhelm anyone in a confined space.

According to Sheriff Matt King, Kammer was the first to lose consciousness. When Hagle saw his co-worker go down and become unresponsive, he tried to pull him to safety.

“He saw his partner go down, and he tried to get him out of the well,” King told local outlet WXYZ-TV. “But when he went into that confined space, he was overwhelmed by the gases as well.”

Both young men were transported to a local hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

Investigators believe muriatic acid used to clean the well reacted with minerals or chemicals inside the confined space, creating the fatal gas. Kammer’s father told WXYZ his son had been doing this type of work since he was a teenager.

Three additional co-workers were also hospitalized after being exposed to the fumes. Multiple first responders had to undergo decontamination at the hospital.

Kammer’s mother, Jenny, described the devastating moment she saw her son.

“I collapsed. I couldn’t breathe … I just froze,” she said. “No mother should ever have to see that. They brought him out naked because of all the chemicals on his clothing from the well.”

The tight-knit community has since rallied around both families. GoFundMe pages created in their honor have raised more than $31,000 combined as friends and neighbors share memories of two young men described as hardworking and loyal.

The St. Clair County Sheriff’s Detective Bureau is continuing to investigate the incident.

What was meant to be just another day on the job instead became a devastating reminder of how quickly routine work can turn deadly — and how one split-second decision to save a friend can cost everything.