Colleagues and loved ones paused to remember a remote employee who died in a horrific heavy vehicle accident.
MACA workers, family and friends recently mourned the sudden loss of utility vehicle operator Gary Mitchell.
The 59-year-old fly-in fly-out worker suffered a fatal crash with a dump truck at Capricorn Metals’ Karlawinda mine (530km southeast of Port Hedland) on 13 October 2022.
AMSJ previously reported one theory, which holds the truck operator could not see the victim’s ute due to the cabin height while moving along a pit ramp’s “dip road” at about 7:30am (WA time). The truck driver was “distraught” but uninjured from the incident.
“Gary was a long-serving employee of the MACA family and had a tight-knit group of friends who he met through work. He was a friendly, welcoming guy who would roll up his sleeves and get the job done, always operating with honesty and integrity – he is going to be sadly missed by us all,” MACA CEO David Greig said according to Seven West Media.
MACA has already donated at least $500 towards helping the victim’s family members cover funeral expenses.
“Sincere condolences to Gary’s family, friends and work colleagues from all at Mt Magnet,” the company’s Mount Magnet team said on the GoFundMe website.
Gofundme fundraising organiser Rebecca Anderson, who donated $500 herself, described Mitchell as a “friendly, welcoming guy” who spoke up when something was not right.
“[He got] the job done, operating with honesty and integrity … [and] Gaz was always speaking his mind and never holding back when telling you what he really thought,” she said on the campaign page.
“You could always mistake the ‘silver fox’ for wearing a wig, as he seemed to grow more hair at his age rather than losing it and would not last a break before heading back to work without a trim … [and] Gaz had a tough exterior with a heart of gold, which will forever be remembered and cherished … – [and] he will certainly be sadly missed by all.”
More than 120 donors had already pitched in $24,400 at the time of publication.
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