MSHA Says Snowy Road Contributed to Nevada Miner’s Death

CRESCENT VALLEY, Nev. (AP) — Federal mine safety regulators say dangerous conditions on a snow-covered access road contributed to the death of a 42-year-old Elko miner at a gold mine in Lander County last month.

Douglas Hicks was killed Dec. 28 at Barrick Gold's Cortez Hills Mine in Crescent Valley. The Mine Safety and Health Administration says Hicks was driving a haul truck, trying to climb a hill on the snowy road when it started sliding back down the road. A second truck attempted to do the same when it slid back into Hicks' truck.

Several minutes later, a third truck also slid back down the road, colliding with the two other wrecked trucks. The Elko Daily Free Press reports the regulators recommended the company do a better of examining hazardous conditions on roadways and communicating those conditions to its drivers.