Mining company employee killed in Somerset County mine accident

HOLLSOPPLE — A mining company employee was crushed to death in an accident involving a shuttle car in a Somerset County mine, authorities said.

LCT Energy said in a statement that the man became trapped between the car and an interior wall of the company’s Maple Springs mine on Monday near Hollsopple.

The company said the work crew underground at the time included four miners who were licensed emergency medical technicians. They assessed his condition and led the effort to get him to the surface, where he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Somerset County coroner, Cullen Swank, identified the man as 37-year-old Brandon Frederick and said he sustained multiple blunt force injuries. The death was ruled accidental.

“The entire LCT family is deeply saddened by this terrible accident and our thoughts and prayers are with the family members and friends most affected by this tragedy,” LCT Energy said in a statement Tuesday.

The state Department of Environmental Protection has ordered the operators of the Conemaugh Township mine to temporarily cease operations in the affected section. The department said inspectors are interviewing mine personnel and beginning the underground portion of their investigation to determine whether corrective actions are needed.

The department said it and the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration are conducting “separate but coordinated investigations.”

In March 2022, scoop operator Paul Springer, 44, of Somerset died after he was struck by a falling six-foot-tall boulder while working underground at the same mine, The (Johnstown) Tribune-Democrat reported.

Federal Investigators said in a final report that miners were unable to tell that the boulder was at risk of falling because of its shape and a lack of visible cracks, and as a result the company modified its roof control plan, the newspaper reported.