According to the Associated Press, H&D Mining's Gary Wayne Bentley was the co-controller of the No. 3 mine where shuttle car operator David "Bud" Morris Jr died in late December 2005.

 

Morris, the only emergency technician onsite at the mine at the time, was hit, and his legs nearly severed, by an overloaded ram car, the report said.

 

As the worker bled to death, Bentley was said to have instructed another miner to "get him out of here" rather than administer care himself.

 

While officials for the Kentucky Office of Mine Safety and Licensing acknowledge violation of mine safety regulations as unintentional, the office claims he should have done more to assist in saving Morris' life.

 

Specifically, according to various reports, those violations included a failure to follow appropriate care standards, failure to administer the needed medical treatment, and failure to respond promptly to an emergency.

 

Under the settlement agreement, Bentley will be barred from owning or operating a coal mining operation in the state and has been permanently stripped of his emergency technician's licence and underground miner's certificate.

 

The initial complaint was received by the office from Morris' widow, Stella Morris, who requested the state Mine Safety Review Commission discipline Bentley, according to the AP.