Electrician Helper

Pending Investigation - Victim was leveling material in a trench made for laying electrical conduit, manager was operating front-end loader above. The front-end loader was being used to back fill the trench when the bank collapsed causing the front-end loader to slide into the trench. The victim was fatally injured when victim was pinned between loader and jersey block.

MSHA filed this narrative before the investigation concluded. The final investigation report is linked under Verify this record below.

Collin Sawasky, a 22-year old apprentice electrician with Premier Power Professionals (Premier) with three years of experience died on June 10, 2019, when a front-loader toppled into the trench where he and a coworker were installing electrical conduit. The accident occurred because the equipment operator did not maintain control of the front-end loader to prevent overtravel into the trench and the mine operator did not provide berms or other devices to prevent overtravel.

1. The mine operator did not maintain control of the front-end loader to prevent overtravel into the trench.

   Corrective action: The mine operator provided additional training to all equipment operators on how to operate equipment in a safe and controlled manner.

2. The mine operator did not use berms or other limiting devices to prevent overtravel of equipment when approaching a drop-off to dump material.

   Corrective action: The mine operator developed and implemented new policies and procedures to ensure miners’ safety when dumping material near an edge of a drop-off, and provided training to miners in the new policies and procedures.

Findings from MSHA's final investigation report, which supersedes the preliminary narrative above.

Activity at time of incident

Electrical Maintenance

Subunit / location

MILL OPERATION/PREPARATION PLANT

Accident type

Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

Source of injury

SURFACE MINING MACHINES

Nature of injury

CRUSHING

Body part affected

MULTIPLE PARTS (MORE THAN ONE MAJOR)

Total mining experience

3 years

Experience at this mine

0 years

Experience in this job

3 years

Degree of injury

FATALITY