CAWOOD, KENTUCKY — A 25-year-old contract truck driver from Flat Lick was killed Monday morning, November 9, in a single-vehicle crash on the haul road at the Nally & Hamilton coal operation in the Cawood community of Harlan County. No one else was hurt.
The Harlan County Coroner’s Office said Lifeguard EMS notified it of a fatality at the job site. Deputy Coroner John Jones responded and pronounced Benjamin Slusher dead at 8:18 a.m. Slusher was a contract truck driver for the company and was working on the mine’s haul road, the Cranks Creek operation, when the crash happened. Deputy Coroner Gene Fisher also assisted at the scene.
The Kentucky State Police, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, and the Kentucky Division of Mine Safety are investigating. The cause of the crash has not been released.
Slusher’s death is the second coal worker fatality recorded in Kentucky this year, according to MSHA. Another mine worker was killed in Hazard in May. Nationwide, there have been nine coal mine fatalities this year. Recent years have typically ended with 10 or fewer. It has been many years since a single incident killed five or more miners, the minimum number federal regulators consider a disaster.
Tony Oppegard, a Lexington attorney who represents miners, said fewer deaths does not necessarily mean mining has become safer. “There just aren’t as many mines operating, and so accordingly, there’s not as many miners working, and therefore there’s not as many accidents and fatalities,” he said. “There’s not usually much publicity about it, and they sort of die quietly. And it’s a tragedy for their family. It’s a disaster for their family that can last at least a generation, if not more.”
Silica Rule
Miners face a number of hazards, including exposure to silica dust. On Tuesday, MSHA proposed weakening a Biden-era rule that set limits on silica dust exposure. Central Appalachia has seen a resurgence of black lung disease over the past two decades. The public can comment online for 60 days once the rule is published, or attend a virtual hearing on December 15.
Information courtesy of the Harlan County Coroner’s Office, WATE, WEKU, and the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
📸 Image(s) used under fair use for news reporting.
