MSHA - Fatalgrams For The Coal Mine Accident on 12/09/2000

COAL MINE FATALITY- On Saturday, December 9, 2000, at approximately 10:50 a.m., a 55 year old truck driver, with 26 years experience, sustained fatal injuries after falling from the bed of a loaded coal truck. The victim had parked his fully loaded coal truck on a haul road approximately two miles below the mine site. He then climbed into the bed of his truck, and began throwing off some of the rock from the top of the load of coal. The victim apparently lost his balance and fell 10 feet from the top of the truck bed onto the haul road, striking his head. There were no eyewitnesses to the accident.

Best Practices

Truck drivers should assure that material is properly loaded into the truck bed to preclude the need for climbing into the truck bed to manually rearrange the material.

Never climb into a loaded truck bed to manually level or remove material except at a properly designed location or structure where safety belts and lines, or the equivalent, may be used

	Submit your own suggestion for a remedy to prevent this type of accident in the future. Please specify if you wish your submission to be anonymous or whether your name may be used. Please include the year of the fatality and the fatality number.

This is the 36^th fatality reported in calendar year 2000 in the coal mining industry. As of this date in 1999, there were 32 fatalities. This is the 4^th accident classified as fall of person reported in the coal mining industry in 2000. As of this date in 1999, there were 2 fatal accidents classified as fall of person reported in the coal mining industry.

The information provided in this notice is based on preliminary data ONLY and does not represent final determinations regarding the nature of the incident or conclusions regarding the cause of the fatality.

For more information:

MSHA's Fatal Accident Investigation Report