Texas DPS troopers indicate that the driver of a flatbed truck hauling construction equipment failed to stop at the intersection of Highway 72 and Highway 97 by the county line between La Salle County and McMullen County. The failure to stop caused a fatal, fiery tanker truck explosion.

As the flatbed truck driver tried to turn onto Highway 97, he slammed into a tanker truck carrying 200 barrels of crude oil that was trying to turn onto Highway 72. Our Eagle Ford Shale truck accident attorneys sadly note that the tanker truck exploded into a fatal fireball that claimed the life of the flatbed truck driver.

The driver of the tanker truck suffered severe injuries in the fiery impact and received airlift transport to San Antonio Military Medical Center. The fiery tanker truck explosion from the 200 barrels of crude oil was so intense that it reportedly melted highway signs and left both truck cabs as unrecognizable lumps of slag. (Source: Tim Gerber, ksat.com San Antonio, 6/20/13)

The hearts and prayers of the Eagle Ford Shale truck accident attorneys at Denena Points, PC are with the family and friends of the big rig driver killed in the fiery impact, and with the tanker truck driver who suffers such severe injuries from the terrible crash.

Fatalities from Truck-Related Crashes are Increasing Alarmingly in the Eagle Ford Shale Counties

TxDOT data shows that the number of fatal traffic accidents tripled in La Salle County between 2011 and 2012. McMullen County has seen more than a 1,000% increase in fatal traffic accidents since 2008. Karnes County has also seen its traffic fatalities increase by a factor of 12.

The tragic traffic toll could be largely blamed on the increase in truck traffic resulting from the Eagle Ford Shale economic boom. Our Eagle Ford Shale truck accident attorneys point out that the oil and gas wells each require, on average, at least 500 truck trips. Big rigs haul in the oil and gas extraction equipment. Then they haul trucks loaded with water to facilitate the shale oil extraction process. The fruits of their labors are hauled back out as crude oil and natural gas.

A fair number of the truck cargo loads are highly combustible, as this La Salle County tanker truck explosion reveals. Click the link to read more about the increase in traffic fatalities in the Eagle Ford Shale oil and gas extraction region.

Contact the Eagle Ford Shale Truck Accident Attorneys at Denena Points, PC for a FREE Legal Consultation if You need Help after being Harmed by a Truck Crash

We provide a free and confidential initial legal consultation, without obligation, to discuss the specific accident that harmed you or your loved one and to evaluate your potential for a full financial recovery for the needless harm you’ve suffered. Call us at 281-369-4363 or reach us through ouronline contact form. We’ve been helping injured truck accident victims and their families make the fair financial recoveries they deserve for more than 12 years. We could help you too.

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