Five men who are believed to be oil field workers were killed Thursday morning – January 15 th – in an accident involving a crude oil tanker truck. According to authorities, a van the men were traveling in slammed into the overturned truck and subsequently burst into flames. The accident took place just southwest of San Antonio in the Eagle Ford Shale.
The incident occurred around 8:15 a.m. when a tanker transporting crude oil attempted to evade a pickup truck as it was turning off the highway, lost control and overturned. Two vehicles traveling behind the tractor-trailer collided into the tank and caught on fire. Three additional victims were injured in the collision, including one victim who was transported to a local hospital in critical condition.
Thursday morning’s incident is becoming increasingly common in areas in and around South Texas oil fields, where many large commercial vehicles essential to the fracking boom share the road with civilian traffic. Many of these commercial vehicles are transporting crude oil or other dangerous materials. Authorities are continuing their investigation into the crash.
Fibich, Leebron, Copeland & Briggs has handled many cases involving oil field accidents, fires and explosions, and accidents involving commercial trucks. You can learn more about these types of accidents on our website or by contacting our legal team.
