State Regulators Fine Company In West Virginia Miner’s Death

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — State regulators have cited and fined the operator of a West Virginia coal mine in the death of a shuttle car operator.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports eight pages made public Monday during a state Coal Mine Health and Safety board meeting say Pinnacle Mining Co. was cited following an investigation of the 44-year-old miner's death.

Luches Rosser was pronounced dead shortly before 1 a.m. May 19 at a Welch hospital. The report shows his head had struck two different steel I-beams hours before when he and another worker were traveling in an underground locomotive at a mine in Wyoming County.

State officials proposed a "special assessment" $10,000 fine after investigators found there was no warning light or reflective signs marking where the clearance height changed and Rosser struck his head.

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Information from: The Charleston Gazette-Mail, http://wvgazettemail.com.