PIKE COUNTY, KY (WOWK) – A miner in Kentucky died earlier this month in an equipment crash, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

The MSHA says the incident happened on the morning of Wednesday, March 1, 2023 at the Elkhorn Stone mine near Elkhorn City in Pike County Kentucky. The mine belongs to the Mountain Aggregates, Inc. mining company, the MSHA says.

According to the MSHA, the miner was driving a bulldozer when it backed over a spoil bank and rolled down an embankment. The MSHA says the miner was ejected during the crash.

The MSHA’s preliminary report of the accident identified the miner as 38-year-old Joshua D. Coleman. The report states Coleman had been a contractor employee who had been at the mine for just over 34 weeks. The MSHA says Coleman had a over 13 years mining experience.

According to the MSHA, this incident was the tenth mining fatality reported in 2023, and the third fatality classified as a “machinery” fatality. Two of those fatalities happened in West Virginia, one of which involved the death of a 73-year-old miner from Kentucky.