Report On Fayette County Mine Death Released

{West Virginia}...According to a report released by MSHA Tuesday, Keith Qualls was killed when he lost his brakes on a steep haul road leaving Republic Energy's Elk Run Coal Company operation near Mahan in Fayette County on December 4, 2010. Qualls, who was driving for Medford Trucking, was loaded and following other trucks out of the mine site when he noticed his trailer brakes were not functioning properly. Investigators say he passed the truck ahead of him on the narrow haul road and attempted to run his truck into an axle berm, which is designed to stop runaway trucks, but the truck failed to center on the berm and flipped over on its side, pinning Qualls under the cab. Fellow drivers and EMS worked to free Qualls, but he was dead before they could get the truck off him. MSHA found there were mismatched brake chambers on the drive axle of the truck, the brakes on the truck were not properly maintained, unsafe conditions were overlooked in a pre-shift inspection and the victim was not wearing a seat belt.