Tree falls on truck at Kentucky surface coal mine, killing driver and injuring passenger
One man died and another person was injured when a tree fell on a pickup truck at a surface coal mine in Bell County Tuesday afternoon.
The two were driving in a company-owned truck at the Hamilton & Nally Enterprises mine at Colmar when a tree about 24 inches in diameter tree fell from loose ground on the highwall above the road, striking the truck, the Bell County Sheriff’s Office and the state Energy and Environment Cabinet said in releases.
A highwall is a cliff created by blasting and digging into the side of a hill to uncover coal.
Cecil Todd Collet, 32, a blaster from Dryden, Va., was driving the truck. He was taken by helicopter to Middlesboro ARH Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.
A passenger, 45-year-old Joshua Pendleton, of Ewing, Va., suffered a broken hip and pelvis, according to a release from the Energy and Environment Cabinet.
The accident happened about 3:30 p.m.
The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death with the Kentucky Division of Mine Safety. Thomas R. Hamilton is the mine controller, according to MSHA.
Collet’s death was the first mining fatality in Kentucky this year and the third nationally in 2022.
“This miner’s unfortunate death is another reminder of the special dangers that these miners face daily,” Gov. Andy Beshear said in a release.
This story was originally published January 11, 2022 at 9:33 PM.
