Fatality #24 - October 19, 2008

On October 19, 2008, at approximately 12:10 p.m., Victor Goudy, a 58-year old rock dust motorman with 30 years mining experience was fatally injured when he was pinned between a trip of empty dollies (lowboys) and the No. 48 locomotive (lead motor). The victim had uncoupled the dollies from the lead locomotive and was in the process of removing the drawbar from the dollies when the No. 47 locomotive (trail motor) rounded a turn and struck the uncoupled dollies. The trail locomotive, which was not coupled to the trip, was approximately 3-4 minutes behind the lead locomotive. 



The accident occurred because there were no policies and procedures in place to require the locomotive operators to communicate the stopped location of the lead locomotive and dollies, or prohibit miners from working in between the dollies and locomotive without knowing the location of the trail locomotive. Also, the reflective streamers attached to the inby end of the parked dollies, in combination with the trail locomotive operator turning off the headlights while still in motion, did not provide a sufficient visual warning and contributed to the accident.