Ochiuto and St. Clair immediately exited their trucks and attempted to locate Overly. Upon finding the victim, they observed the extensive nature of the injuries and no apparent signs of life. Lee went to the mine office and notified security at the main gate to get an ambulance. The body was transported to St. Francis Health Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for an autopsy. The cause of death was given as blunt force trauma with crushing injuries.
All trucks normally dump over the edge of the spoil pile unless conditions dictate otherwise.
A Caterpillar, Model 773, 50-ton rock truck was being used to transport mud from cleanup activities along the access roads and parking area. The possibility exists that Overly's vision could have been impaired, by the sun, in the right mirror as he was backing to dump. The top of the spoil pile was relatively level with dry compacted material. An examination of the pit area only was made by Kevin Buszinski, prior to commencing work and no hazards were found. A soft open area existed on the south edge of the spoil pile, where no overburden had been deposited.