• 02
  • November
    2011

As you may know, there has recently been a large increase in the amount of drilling in the Eagle Ford Shale formation. This increase in drilling in south Texas has resulted in a commensurate increase in the number of workers coming in and out of the area. This in turn has led to an uptick in the number of motor vehicle accidents in the area. A story earlier this week in the Houston Chronicle reports that there have been three fatal crashes in the last two weeks involving people working in the oil and gas fields of the Eagle Ford Shale formation.

The most recent occurred on Monday morning. The head-on collision occurred about six miles west of Tilden on Texas Highway 72. Three people were killed in the fatal accident.

A representative for the Texas Department of Public Safety said that Monday's accident occurred when a 27-year-old oil field worker in a pickup truck drifted across the center line and into the oncoming lane of traffic. The pickup truck crashed head-on into a Toyota carrying two other oil field workers aged 61 and 58. All three workers lost their lives in the accident.

As anyone who works in the oil fields can tell you, the work is often hard and the hours are long. Authorities believe that the 27-year-old man may have fallen asleep behind the wheel before his truck floated into the oncoming lane. Unfortunately it is not that surprising that a worker putting in such long hours might doze off while driving down the highway. All three men involved in this accident were thought to have been on their way to work at the time of the crash.

Source: Houston Chronicle "3 oil-field workers die in 3rd fatal crash on South Texas highway," EVA RUTH MORAVEC, Oct. 31, 2011