Coal company charged with making road unsafe

Coal company charged with making road unsafe

September 19, 2007 9:16 AM
LEXINGTON, Ky.
An eastern Kentucky coal company is facing a charge of wanton endangerment over accusations that its workers are creating dangerous driving conditions on a local road.The indictment alleges employees of Frasure Creek Coal's mountaintop mining site in Lost Creek are putting too much water on Kentucky 11-46 in Perry County, Kentucky -- making it muddy and creating hazards for drivers.
A grand jury issued the indictment against Frasure Creek last week. Officials for Frasure Creek, a subsidiary of Trinity Coal of West Virginia, declined to comment.
Mike Thompson drives the road daily. He says his son was involved in an accident on the road and that several other accidents have occurred over the past year because of the unsafe, muddy conditions. Residents want the company to blacktop its haul road and then put a tire pressure watcher at the end of the haul road so the trucks' tires are clean when they drive onto it.
Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com