According to a preliminary report released to ILN by the US Mine Safety and Health Administration, 52-year-old Stevie Johnson was working December 12 at the PE Southern Pike mine, operating a 10-wheel International haul truck down a grade on a haul road.
“The operator appears to have lost control and either jumped or was thrown from the vehicle,” the agency said of the 6.30am event.
“The truck overturned in the center of the haul road.”
Johnson, a 30-year industry veteran, had worked at the minesite for 36 weeks. He was a contractor driver for Trivette Trucking.
State and federal investigators have commenced reviews of the incident. MSHA did not confirm if a 103(k) order to halt production was issued.
PE Southern Pike, located in Pike County, is operated by TECO Energy subsidiary Premier Elkhorn Coal. The complex has both surface and underground operations with a total annual capacity of 5 million tons.
The mines of Premier Elkhorn extract from the Amburgy, Elkhorn No. 1, Elkhorn No. 2, Glamorgan, Lower Elkhorn, Whitesburg, Elkhorn No. 3 and Hazard No. 4 seams.
The fatality is the 17th to occur in the US this year, and the third in Kentucky.
