Ky. Miner Killed in Underground Accident

CUMBERLAND, Ky. – An eastern Kentucky coal miner was killed Friday in an underground accident in Harlan County.

David Morris Jr., 29, of Cumberland, a shuttle car operator, died from injuries he received when he was struck by a car about 4,100 feet inside an H&D Mining Inc. mine.

“He apparently was standing beside his car when he was struck by another car,” said Mark York, spokesman for the Kentucky Cabinet for Environmental and Public Protection.

Suzy Bohnert, spokeswoman for the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, said the accident brings the total number of coal miners killed on the job in the United States this year to 22, a record low. The previous record low was 27 in 2002.

Among the coal fatalities reported this year were four in Alabama and Pennsylvania and one each in Ohio, Wyoming and Oklahoma. Several coal states, including Virginia and Tennessee, reported none, according to the federal numbers.