SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP - A 30-year-old man from Washingtonville has died in an apparent mining mishap.

East Fairfield Coal Company's Subtropolis Limestone Mine is one of Mahoning County's largest suppliers of aggregate for asphalt and concrete.

The company has been in business for 77 years and has never had an accident that resulted in the death of employee.

Springfield Township police received a call shortly after 1:00 a.m. on Monday morning that 30-year old Jason Gudat had been injured inside the mine. "Our fire and EMS were on the scene. Our personnel came out to the officer and said that there was a man trapped in there, they checked his vitals and he was deceased," said Chief Matthew Mohn, Springfield Township Police.

A mine official says a rock slab, six inches thick, fell on Gudat. According to the corners, report the 30-year old sustained multiple blunt force injuries to the chest and abdomen as a result of falling rock within the mine.

Gudat had only worked at the mine for two months. According to his mother, he loved his new job and it was all he talked about. He had been unemployed for the last two years. His family says he was a hard worker, always helping others. He would plow friends and family's driveways and ask for nothing in return. The family spent Easter Sunday together.

Investigators from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration along with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources spent most of Monday in the mine. All production underneath has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.