West Virginia Identifies Miner Killed at Consol Mine

October 21, 2008

A coal miner killed at a Consol Energy operation in West Virginia was pinned between an underground locomotive and a rail car, a spokeswoman for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said.

The victim was between the locomotive and the car when they were struck by a second locomotive shortly after noon on Oct. 19 at Consol’s McElroy Mine, MSHA spokeswoman Amy Louviere said in an e-mail.

The victim was identified as Sistersville resident Victor Goudy, 58, said Jama Jarrett, spokeswoman for the state Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training. Goudy, a locomotive operator, had 33 years of mining experience.

Goudy is the eighth West Virginian and 24th nationally to die at a U.S. coal mine this year, according to MSHA statistics.

State and federal mine investigators were still at the Marshall County mine on Oct. 20, according to Jarrett and Louviere.

A spokesman for Canonsburg, Pa.-based Consol did not immediately return phone messages.

The McElroy Mine has a mixed safety record.

While it hasn’t had a fatal accident in more than four years, the sprawling underground operation was the scene of two fatal accidents in 2003 and 2004.

In one, a miner was killed when the side of a coal pillar collapsed and pinned him against a piece of heavy equipment in August 2004. In the other, three contract workers were killed and three co-workers were injured in a methane explosion during construction of a ventilation shaft Jan. 22, 2003.

MSHA cited contractor Central Cambria Drilling Co. for high negligence and reckless disregard for safety for the blast. Consol was not blamed.

McElroy has more than 740 underground employees and produces between 9 million and 10 million tons of coal annually.

Consol operates 17 mining complexes in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Utah.