Mike Ramsey, a local man who once worked at the TransAlta mine, was killed on Saturday in a workplace accident at a coal mine in Montana. According to reports, Ramsey, 62, was driving a 100-ton haul truck when it fell from a 100-foot ledge at the Westmoreland Coal Co. mine in Colstrip.
Ramsey graduated from W.F. West High School and made his home in Curtis when he wasn’t away for work. He was looking forward to retirement in order to return to Lewis County to be closer to his children and grandchildren.
The Westmoreland Coal Co. referred to the deadly incident as a “tragic truck accident” in its official release and noted that the cause of the accident is currently under investigation by the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
“It was an accident. It was a freak thing. It sounds like the ground gave way underneath him,” Ramsey’s daughter, Sarah Burdick, told The Chronicle.
Ramsey logged more than 20 years in the mining industry and previously worked in Centralia at the TransAlta coal mine.
A memorial service will be held in Colstrip, Montana, on Saturday, and arrangements are currently being made for a service locally for his friends, and extended family may pay their respects.
“His TransAlta mining family and the guys here were very important to him,” said Burdick.
