Mine worker killed by falling rock in Greene County, state police investigating

Pennsylvania State Police are investigating after a worker was killed at a mine in Greene County late on Tuesday night. 

According to state police, just after 11 p.m., troopers from the Waynesburg station were called to the Aleppo Portal of the Bailey Mine for a reported workplace incident. 

Once state police arrived, they found that 34-year-old Zachary Wolfe of Rices Landing had been "fatally injured" while working underground in the mine when he was crushed by a falling rock. 

Now the community, which was built around coal mining, is grieving the loss of Wolfe, a husband and dad of two. Resident Natasha Burns said she knew Wolfe through the gas station where she works. She said he would regularly stop in, strike up conversations, and always made people smile. She said it's difficult to believe he's gone.

"He was always outgoing, happy. I never seen him mad," Burns said. "Usually we'd talk about the weather or politics, whatever was going on at the time."

Mining remains one of the most dangerous jobs in western Pennsylvania, and tragedies like this leave lasting scars on small communities.  

Core Natural Resources released a statement saying in part, "We are deeply saddened to confirm that we lost a member of our CORE family during an incident underground at our Bailey Mine. We are working with state and federal officials to investigate the cause of the accident." The company offered "thoughts, prayers and heartfelt sympathies" to everyone impacted by the loss. 

State police said that the death at the mine remains under investigation.