Miner dies in Fayette County stone quarry roof collapse
The worker trapped Friday afternoon following a collapse at a Springhill Township stone quarry has died, a state Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman said.
The Fayette County coroner’s office identified the man as David Hayden, 49. Hayden’s hometown was not immediately available, and a specific cause of death was not yet available.
Emergency responders were called to Laurel Aggregates on Springhill Furnace Road shortly after 3 p.m. for a report of a roof collapse onto equipment where a miner was working, DEP spokeswoman Lauren Fraley said.
Hayden was freed from the debris about 11 p.m. Friday – nearly eight hours after the collapse – but was unresponsive and died of injuries in the collapse, Fraley said. Workers at the scene assisted Smithfield volunteer firefighters and rescue crews from the DEP’s Bureau of Mine Safety to remove Hayden, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Crews from the company and DEP’s mine rescue team worked to remove loose rock to reach the equipment and move it under a solid, supported area of the roof to ultimately extricate the individual,” Fraley said in a statement Saturday morning.
Fraley said the DEP will lead the investigation into Hayden’s death with assistance from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.
“DEP will issue a preliminary action report with general findings and a final report with its full determination of the cause and potential corrective measures required of the mine operator to ensure that this type of situation does not happen again,” Fraley said.
No one else was injured in the roof collapse.