Dwight was a three-year Air Force veteran and then a coal miner for the Glen Irvin Coal Company at the Trojan Mine near Gypsy, in Indiana County, Pa. He died in an accident there while operating a mine tractor about 500 feet inside inside the pit. He became pinned between the tractor and the roof of the structure, sustaining multiple injuries, and was taken to Miners Hospital in Spangler, where he died a short time after admission. His death certificate identified the vehicle as a Jeep and elaborated that he sustained multiple internal injuries, a ruptured liver and spleen and a fractured neck. The accident happened at 6:30 AM and he lived for 3 hours.