Eagle Ford Shale boom causes seven deaths in one month in Dimmit and Maverick Counties
By Jose G. Landa
The Eagle Ford boom has claimed the lives of 2 persons on Thursday November 15, 2012. Preliminary reports state that the fatal automobile accident occurred on North Highway 83 close to Catarina , Texas between the Dimmit and Webb County lines. Reports further state that three vehicles were involved in the accident. The victims were identified by the Texas Department of Public safety as 48 year old Juan Jose Martinez from Brownsville, Texas and 29 year old David Allen Hall from Corpus Christi, Texas. The other victim involved in the accident suffered multiple injuries and was identified as Oscar Quintanilla from Zapata, Texas. All persons involved in the accident are or were oil field workers in the Eagle Ford Shale.
The tragic toll of highway accident deaths in the Eagle Ford Shale are rapidly growing as in the last 30 day period there have been a total of seven highway accident fatalities in and around the South Texas, region.
One must recall the tragic accident that claimed the lives of four Eagle Pass residents on Saturday, October 27, 2012, on Highway 277 South, in Dimmit County, Texas. According to Sheriff Tomas S. Herrera, one of the automobiles was traveling from Carrizo Springs to Eagle Pass with three employees of Church’s Chicken in Carrizo Springs returning from work due to the shortage of local workers caused by the Eagle Ford Shale boom in that community. The other automobile had one occupant and was going to Carrizo Springs from Eagle Pass to go work in an Eagle Ford Shale company. The two automobiles collided head on causing one of the vehicles to burst into flames and burn completely.The four Eagle Passans who died in the fiery accident have been identified as Eduardo ‘Lalo’ Salazar, Hilario Rodriguez, Gilberto Guerra, and Rolando Romo.
Another fatal automobile accident occurred on Tuesday, November 13, 2012, on Highway 83 approximately one mile out of Carrizo Springs, Texas. The victim was identified as Rylen Ledesma , 21 years old an oil field worker and who was on his way to work at the time of the tragic accident. Ledesma’s 1998 Mitsubushi Eclipse was impacted by a Pick -up Truck belonging to a welding company out of Zapata, Texas.
At least one person dies every single day on a Texas highway since 2000, bringing the total of highway fatalities to over 41, 252 in the last twelve years.
“One fatality on a Texas roadway is one too many, and to see as many as eight or 10 in a single day is unacceptable,” said Phil Wilson TxDOT executive director. “As we acknowledge these tragic statistics, we are asking Texans to please help us make our roadways safer.” Said Wilson
In 2011 alone, Texas experienced 3,048 traffic fatalities. The majority of these traffic fatalities resulted from people who were driving too fast, did not wear seat belts, were drinking and driving and texting while driving or distracted while driving. Statistics show that 28.9 percent of people killed in fatal automobile accidents were not wearing seatbelts. 34.9 percent were attributed to drinking and driving and13.4 percent were associated with people being distracted (i.e. texting and driving).
