Mike Marek talks about his brother, Larry, who was killed in an accident at the Lucky Friday Mine in Mullan in April 2011. (Family Photo courtesy of Jessica Robinson)

Mike Marek was rolling up his water hose, about to make the last wrap, when it happened. “Loud thuds like, ‘Vvoof, vvoof.’ And instantly it’s just dust,” he said. The dust choked the air, turning into a grayish fog under his miner’s headlamp. After what seemed like minutes, the air cleared enough for Marek to make his way down the tunnel to where his mining partner and younger brother Larry Marek had been working. And then his light landed on it. “A huge pile of boulders and sand,” Mike Marek said. “That’s when I was praying, ‘Oh my god, I hope he ain’t under that.’ ” Marek called out, “ ‘Larry! Larry!’ I was trying to move rocks with my hands. Then I’d holler some more.” It was April 15, 2011/Jessica Robinson, Northwest News Network. More here.

Question: I lost my father in a vehicle accident in October 1976. Have you ever lost a family member in an accident?