Thirty-six people have died in crashes involving trucks hauling oilfield wastewater and equipment in Oklahoma since 2007.
An investigation by News On 6 and their partner, The Frontier, found that about seven percent of the trucking companies licensed for the work have been involved in deadly accidents. Safety issues including bad brakes, trucks thousands of pounds overweight, failure to test drivers for drugs, put Oklahoma drivers at risk, including one man who was nearly killed by an oilfield truck.
Kyle Randall was just minutes from home on July 2, 2013, when a semi-truck hauling 39,000 pounds of oilfield wastewater blew through a stop sign and plowed into the side of his Ford Taurus.
The truck slammed into his driver’s side and pinned him under the truck for over an hour. The driver of the semi that hit him walked away uninjured. Court records show the truck, owned by Rick’s Tank Truck Service, weighed almost 6,000 pounds over the legal limit.
Randall — working to become certified as a diesel mechanic — sustained permanent injuries that left him unable to work and dependent on caregivers for the rest of his life.
Bob Blakemore, the attorney from Smolen & Roytman representing Kyle Randall, said the crash and others like it should prompt discussion about lax oversight of trucks hauling wastewater.
“The crash that permanently disabled Kyle was eminently preventable,” Blakemore said in an email to The Frontier. “The statistics uncovered by The Frontier suggest an industry-wide problem. It is our hope that with Kyle’s lawsuit, and the increased media scrutiny the saltwater hauling industry will take a long look in the mirror and begin implementing meaningful remedial measures. With any luck, this will be Kyle Randall’s lasting legacy. Kyle does not want one other motorist to endure the nightmare he was been put through.”
Read the full article from NewsOn6, Dangerous Rigs: Oilfield Truck Crashes Kill, Injure Dozens.
Read the full article from The Frontier, Dangerous rigs: Dozens killed, injured in crashes with trucks hauling wastewater
