Fayette County miner remembered as a devoted father, grandfather
David Hayden followed in the footsteps of the father who shares his name, working in the region鈥檚 mines.
He was devoted to his five children and one grandchild, according to his daughter, Davina Hayden. She said her father, a resident of East Hungtingdon Township in Westmoreland County, 鈥渨as an amazing person with a huge heart a such a big personality. He lived for his family and would do anything for them.鈥�
Hayden died Friday when a roof collapsed at the Laurel Aggregates mine in Fayette County鈥檚 Springhill Township as he was operating a loader. The 49-year-old鈥檚 body was extracted from the mine off Springhill Furnace Road about eight hours after the 3 p.m. collapse, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident is being investigated by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. No other injuries were reported.
Laurel Aggregates is a limestone and sandstone supplier. Jeff Eller, a spokesman for Arcosa Inc., the construction engineering company that owns the mine, said in a statement Arcosa officials were 鈥渄eeply saddened鈥� about Hayden鈥檚 death. He also said Arcosa 鈥渋s cooperating with the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MHSA) along with local authorities to investigate the cause of this accident.鈥�
Volunteer firefighters from Smithfield worked with a rescue crew from the DEP鈥檚 mine safety bureau to reach Hayden. According to DEP spokeswoman Lauren Fraley, they 鈥渨orked to remove loose rock to reach the equipment and move it under a solid, supported area of the roof to ultimately extricate (Hayden).鈥�
Once its investigation is complete, the DEP will issue a report outlining its findings and potential corrective measures.
Davina Hayden has as launched a GoFundMe campaign for Hayden鈥檚 wife, Sydney, and Hayden鈥檚 three younger children. As of Sunday afternoon, it had raised $8,785.