Rock dust motorman Victor Goudy, 58, who had 30 years of mining experience, was killed at Consol Energy’s McElroy operation in northern West Virginia last October when he was crushed between an empty dolly railcar and the mine’s No. 48 lead locomotive after another locomotive collided into the rear dollies.

“The victim had uncoupled the dollies from the lead locomotive and was in the process of removing the drawbar from the dollies when the … trail motor [locomotive] rounded a turn and struck the uncoupled dollies,” the agency said.

“The trail locomotive [No. 47], which was not coupled to the trip, was approximately 3-4 minutes behind the lead locomotive.”

In its investigation MSHA found that the accident occurred because the mine operator did not have policies and procedures for locomotive operators to communicate with others over the stopped locations for lead locomotives or dollies, or to prohibit individuals from working in between them without knowing the lead’s location.

It also found that streamers, which the operator used to mark the ends of equipment carrying supplies, did not give sufficient warning to its location when stopped or parked on the track.

“An indirect cause is that the inby end of the dollies was not marked with an effective trip light or reflective device that could be easily seen by approaching haulage vehicles, no matter where the trip was positioned along the haulage,” MSHA noted.

To rectify the issue, a Notice to Provide a Safeguard was distributed that mandates a light be attached to the trip within 3 feet of the end of dollies, supply cars and coal cars when not attached to a locomotive.

MSHA also issued a Notice to Provide a Safeguard to require all locomotive operators who are part of a trip to confirm that the trips have come to a complete stop before any worker exits the operator's compartment.

“Additionally, no one will be permitted on or alongside the trip, except in the protection of a crosscut or areas excavated in the coal pillars for this purpose [manhole] until it is confirmed that all locomotives that are part of the trip have come to a complete stop,” MHSA said of the order.

McElroy, an 851-worker operation which mines from the Pittsburgh No 8 seam, produces about 16,666 tons of coal daily from five continuous miners and two longwall units.

The mine’s Non-Fatal Days Lost (NFDL) incidence rates for the previous quarter and the 2008 fiscal year overall were 2.40 and 2.89, respectively, versus the national averages of 5.29 and 4.82.