Federal Report Adds New Details to July Death at Warrior Met’s Blue Creek Mine

A federal report has revealed new details about the death of a 23-year-old electrician at a Warrior Met Coal mine in Tuscaloosa County earlier this month, including that he was killed while performing maintenance on the equipment that crushed him.

As the Thread previously reported, Justin Calloway of Cordova died underground at the mine on July 1.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration has since published a preliminary accident report as well as a fatality alert stating that a longwall shield hydraulically collapsed onto Calloway while he was working on it at Blue Creek No. 1 in Berry.

Longwall shields are the hydraulic supports that hold up the roof over a working coal face.

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The federal findings expand on what was known in the days after the death. The Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit, which responds to deaths that occur in Tuscaloosa County outside a hospital setting, said at the time that Calloway was found unresponsive underground and that an initial investigation indicated a machinery accident. Investigators said there was no reason to suspect foul play.

MSHA classified the death as a machinery accident as well, but its report identifies the specific equipment and the task Calloway was performing when he was killed. He was employed as an electrician at the time of the accident, according to the report.

Their report recommended assuring that all longwall shields are blocked against hazardous motion before working on components that support them, that miners practice better communication, and more.

The report lists Calloway as having about two years and eight months of total mining experience, and about eight and a half months at Blue Creek. Warrior Met celebrated the completion of the roughly $1 billion Blue Creek project with a ribbon-cutting in January.

A GoFundMe to support the Calloway family has raised almost all of its $24,000 goal.

MSHA records list Blue Creek Mine No. 1 as an operation with 273 employees, with 254 of them working underground. Eighty-one people were in the mine when the accident happened.

Both federal documents carry MSHA's standard notice that the information is preliminary and does not represent a final determination of the cause of the accident. A full fatal investigation report, which can include citations and proposed penalties, typically follows months later.

The fatality alert notes it was the fifteenth mining death reported nationally in 2026 and the fifth classified as resulting from machinery. Three more have followed since in mines outside Alabama.

For more exclusive coverage of public safety in West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.