West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training spokesperson Jama Jarrett told ILN Wednesday that the worker was Mark Gray, 28, of Belle, West Virginia. He had six years of mining experience, including three months at the location where he was killed.
Jarrett also confirmed that the incident, in which Gray was operating a loaded “lizard truck” and backing into a sediment pond, did occur on mine property. There was some uncertainty about that fact initially, with communications hindered by the mine’s remote location.
Gray was a contractor for Hawkeye Construction in Kentucky.
State and federal investigations are continuing into the accident at Samples. Owner Catenary Coal is a subsidiary of Patriot Coal.
Gray’s death is the ninth in the US coal industry in 2009 and the second in the state of West Virginia.
