C.W. Mining fined in '07 fatal accident

C.W. Mining Co. and contractor TrimacTransportation Service Inc. have been issued penalties totaling $265,000 for violations that contributed to a fatal accident at a mine in Emery County.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration announced the penalties Friday. The accident at the Bear Canyon Mine on Dec. 12, 2007, in which a truck driver was crushed, was caused by a parking-brake failure, the agency said. The driver was caught between a front-end loader and a haul truck while he was trying to attach a tow chain to the truck. The loader rolled downhill when the parking brake failed to set because frozen moisture in the air reservoirs prevented the brake from properly applying.