A oil rig worker from New Mexico was fatally injured after a rig malfunctioned at a Patriot Drilling site in Southwest Texas. Brian Callicoat was only 22 years old and was expecting his second child with his wife when he was fatally injured in the oilfield workplace accident.
A pipe had apparently become lodged within the rig’s casing and a group of oilfield workers were trying to get it out when the pipe freed itself. The sudden movement didn’t allow Callicoat time to react and he was fatally injured by the pipe. His coworkers did what they could to control the bleeding while waiting for emergency responders, but they were unable to save his life.
Questions have arisen related to the length of time it took for responders to reach the Patriot Drilling site to provide assistance to Callicoat. At least one source reported that a jurisdictional issue kept the closest responders – from Eddy County, New Mexico – at bay. The fatal oilfield accident took place just a half-mile inside the Texas border.
The Eddy County Sheriff responded to citizen concerns that a state border would stand in the way of necessary life-saving emergency services on the Regional Emergency Dispatch Authority’s Facebook page.
“In emergency calls of life or limb, if the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office is able to respond to an incident faster than the agency with jurisdiction, WE WILL RESPOND and handle the scene until such time that the appropriate agency is able to arrive and take charge of the scene,” confirmed the Sheriff.
Source: Carlsbad Current-Argus, “Carlsbad man dies in oil rig accident in Culberson County, Texas,” March 21, 2013