3 oil field workers die in collision with school bus by Pamela King, February 3, 2014, E&E News
Three Eagle Ford Shale workers died Thursday morning after their van collided with a school bus. Following a 24-hour shift in the oil field, seven workers were traveling home when their vehicle struck the back of a school bus turning off Texas State Highway 72. Officials believe the driver, 26-year-old Daniel Zambrano Jr., was fatigued or asleep at the time of the accident, said Charlie Ramirez, a senior corporal with the Texas Department of Public Safety. Zambrano was killed in the crash, as were passengers Jose Rios, 41, and Martin Aguirre, 43. Their four companions were brought to hospitals for treatment, and Zambrano, Rios and Aguirre were transported to Roberson Funeral Home in Three Rivers, Ramirez said. Public safety officials did not have the workers’ employment information.
The 12 students aboard the Three Rivers Independent School District bus suffered minor scrapes and bruises, Superintendent Kenneth Rohrbach said. With permission from the police, administrators dispatched another bus to whisk the children away from the scene and to the school, where they were checked for injuries, he said. “We wanted to get them away from the scene as soon as possible,” Rohrbach said. Families of seven of the children on the bus requested additional care at Christus Spohn Hospital in Beeville, Ramirez said. All the children were cleared and released by the hospital, he added.
In Three Rivers, dangerous oil field traffic is a fact of life, Rohrbach said. Trucks carrying oil field equipment whiz along the roadways. Rig crew members make long commutes away from remote work sites after extended stretches of manual labor. This is the first time one of the district’s buses has been involved in an accident, but Rohrbach said wrecks of this nature occur often enough to put drivers on alert. Bus operators are instructed to exercise caution and use their signals when turning, which the driver in Thursday’s incident had done, he said. [Emphasis added]
School officials plan to meet with fracking companies by Fox29, January 31 2014
THREE RIVERS, Texas — KABB talked with one of the men who survived that deadly car crash that involved a school bus. Geraldo Carrio, 27, says he doesn’t remember too much from the wreck and was not ready to give details. He’s listed in stable condition at a Corpus Christi hospital. He was airlifted to Corpus from the wreck in Three Rivers yesterday. The deadly accident that killed three people in that van happened yesterday morning on Hwy 72 near 281, south of San Antonio.
Kenneth Rohrbach is the superintendent for Three Rivers I-S-D. He says he plans to meet with his school board and county commissioners soon to figure out how to keep their kids safe from the traffic dangers caused by the oil boom. “Its scary out there we worry about our kids every day,” Rohrbach said. “Something needs to change.”
Rohrbach wants change after a tragic bus accident. Just before seven yesterday morning, a Three Rivers school bus was rear ended by a driver who D-P-S says fell asleep at the wheel. News 4 talked with the Good Samaritans who rescued some of the victims. “We just saw the van going something like 70 miles per hour hit the back of the bus,” said David Benavidez, an electrician in Three Rivers. “We started helping the guys get out there were like seven guys and we were trying to help the guys get out of the van.”
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Twelve children on this three rivers i-s-d bus luckily suffered only minor injuries. Rohrbach says he’s noticed an increase in traffic, damaged roads and wrecks because of the oil boom in the three rivers area. He says he plans to meet with his school board and Live Oak county commissioners to address this issue with the oil companies. [Emphasis added]
[Refer also to:
Reportedly, without consulting the community, Bonavista Energy sets up near Westbrook School K-8, Rocky View County, Alberta, October 2013
Source of above photos: FackingCanada
Fracking Injuries, deaths and dangers for workers and communities:
Number of oil and gas workers killed in highway crashes over the past decade: more than 300
Of the 648 oil and gas field worker deaths from 2003 to 2008 alone, portion that were due to highway crashes: 1/3 …
Length of shifts in hours that oil and gas field workers are routinely pressured into working by employers who cite longstanding regulatory exemptions enjoyed by the industry: 20 ]