The Mountain Eagle
WHITESBURG WEATHER

Death by auto being probed by regulators





CHARLESTON, W.Va.

Authorities are weighing whether the death of a contract worker at a Patriot Coal mine is mining related.

West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training spokeswoman Jama Jarrett says 43-yearold Darrell Massey died after he was ejected from his vehicle in a rollover accident Jan. 28.

Jarrett and federal Mine Safety and Health Administration spokeswoman Amy Louviere say the agencies have not decided whether to list the accident as mining related. So far, there have been no coal mining fatalities in the U.S. this year.

Jarrett says Massey was leaving work when the accident occurred on a haul road at Patriot’s Winchester mine in eastern Kanawha County. Massey’s vehicle apparently went over an embankment.

St. Louis-based Patriot operates mines in West Virginia and Kentucky.


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