Texas Construction & Refinery Accidents
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Victims Of West Explosion Honored
by Jonathan S. Harris on April 25, 2013
Investigators at the site of the West fertilizer plant explosion raised U.S. and Texas flags to half mast Thursday, followed by a brief moment of silence then the sounding of taps by a Texas Department of Public Safety honor guard. A week after the blast that killed 15 and injured more than 200, a memorial service was also planned for 2 p.m. tod...
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Death Toll Rises To 15 In West Fertilizer Plant Explosion
by Jonathan S. Harris on April 24, 2013
Officials said Tuesday that the number of people who died in the West fertilizer plant explosion stands now at 15. At least 200 people were injured in the tragedy. Mayor Pro Tem Steve Vanek said that they believe all the blast victims have been found. "No more victims. Everything is searched," Vanek said in a news conference Tuesday. Investig...
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Fertilizer Plant's Ammonium Nitrate Stores Should Have Been Overseen By Homeland Security
by Jonathan S. Harris on April 23, 2013
The West fertilizer plant that exploded Wednesday, killing at least 14 people, was storing 1,350 times the volume of ammonium nitrate needed to trigger U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) safety oversight. The company that owns the plant, West Fertilizer, had not informed DHS about the potentially explosive fertilizer as it is required ...
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Epicenter Of West Plant Explosion Found; Some Residents Allowed Back To Homes
by Jonathan S. Harris on April 22, 2013
Investigators on Sunday announced that they had located the epicenter of the tragic West fertilizer plant explosion. Assistant Texas Fire Marshal Kelly Kistner said investigators would be working inward from the least to most damaged areas as the search continues for the cause of the blast but provided no timeline for a report on the incident. ...
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President Declares Emergency, Death Toll Hits 14 After West Plant Explosion
by Jonathan S. Harris on April 20, 2013
On Friday night, President Barack Obama issued an emergency declaration in the West, Texas, fertilizer plant explosion that killed at least 14 people and injured more than 200 on Wednesday. The president pledged disaster relief aid and authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts in this small Texas to...
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Death Toll Up To 12 In West Fertilizer Plant Explosion
by Jonathan S. Harris on April 19, 2013
Authorities on Friday raised the count to 12 dead in the West fertilizer plant explosion. Most fatalities have been firefighters and other emergency responders who arrived on the scene first. About 200 were injured in the blast that rocked this small Texas town about 20 miles north of Waco. Search and rescue operations are continuing as crews s...
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More than 150 Injured, Up To 15 Missing Or Dead In West Plant Explosion
by Jonathan S. Harris on April 18, 2013
At least 15 people are missing or dead and more than 150 injured after an explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, on Wednesday evening. The explosion at West Fertilizer Co. began with a fire around 6 p.m. Volunteer firefighters were attempting to extinguish the blaze when an explosion ripped through the plant about two hours later. The...
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12 Injured, 3 Critical After Fire At ExxonMobil Refinery
by Jonathan S. Harris on April 17, 2013
Twelve contract workers were injured, three critically burned, after a fire in the processing unit of ExxonMobil’s Beaumont refinery this morning. The fire has been put out, company spokeswoman Kathleen Jackson said. The injured workers were transported by ambulance to Beaumont hospitals with a range of injuries. Helicopters could not be used b...
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Blaze Extinguished At Marathon Refinery In Texas City
by Jonathan S. Harris on March 01, 2013
A fire at the Marathon Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City on Thursday started around hoses connected to one of the tanks, a spokesman for Marathon Petroleum said. No injuries were reported in the fire, which sent thick smoke into the air that was visible from miles away. No shelter-in-place was ordered because of the direction of the wind, Te...
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Air Liquide Releases ID Of Worker Killed In Blast
by Jonathan S. Harris on February 13, 2013
Air Liquide has released the identity of a worker killed in an explosion at a La Porte plant on Saturday. Javier Ortiz was reported missing after the blast and was found by search crews after about 12 hours. Another employee remained hospitalized in serious but stable condition with burn injuries. Fire investigators were looking for the cause o...
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1 Dead, 1 Injured After Explosion At La Porte Plant
by Jonathan S. Harris on February 11, 2013
One person is dead and another injured after an explosion and fire at the Air Liquide cylinder plant in La Porte, Texas, on Saturday. Fire investigators still are looking for the cause of the explosion at the plant, on Fairmont Parkway near Bay Area Boulevard. A company spokesman said 20 employees were inside at the time of the incident. One pe...
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Worker Dies At Galveston Shipyard
by Jonathan S. Harris on November 12, 2012
A contract worker died last week after a construction-related accident in a Galveston shipyard. The man was operating a backhoe from outside the cab at Southwest Shipyard when he was pinned by the boom.A crew was working on digging a hole at the time of the incident. The worker had gotten off the backhoe and was standing behind it when he went t...
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8 Injured In Montgomery County Gas Explosion
by Jonathan S. Harris on November 07, 2012
An explosion at a propane distribution company near Conroe on Tuesday left eight people injured. Two were flown to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and six were taken by ambulance to Houston-area hospitals, the Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s Office said. Firefighters responded to AmeriGas after an explosion was reported a...
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BP Reaches Settlement With OSHA For 2009 Violations
by Jonathan S. Harris on July 12, 2012
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and BP announced a partial settlement stemming from safety violations the company’s Texas City refinery was cited for in 2009. BP was fined $87.4 million in 2009 due to a series of safety violations, mostly stemming from changes not made at the plant after a fatal 2005 explosion. BP will pa...
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Fuel Tank Near Port Of Galveston Burns After Explosion
by Jonathan S. Harris on February 24, 2012
An explosion at a fuel storage and intermodal terminal near the Port of Galveston about 7 p.m. Thursday was heard across the island and into parts of the Galveston County mainland. Firefighters responded to the 3-alarm fire that shut down the road to Pelican Island and left Texas A&M University at Galveston students on lockdown. There were abou...
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Worker Dies After Texas City Industrial Accident
by Jonathan S. Harris on February 13, 2012
A man died after being injured late Saturday night in an industrial accident in Texas City. It appears Virgel James Stoker, 26, was injured while working on industrial equipment used to package products at the Dallas Group of America Inc.’s facility at the Port of Texas City. He died shortly after being taken to the hospital. The Galveston Cou...
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Massive Fire Breaks Out At Waxahachie Chemical Plant
by Jonathan S. Harris on October 03, 2011
A massive fire at a chemical plant in Waxahachie was about 90 percent contained, fire Chief David Hudgins said Monday afternoon. There were no reports of injuries. Waxahachie fire officials warned of possibly toxic fumes and smoke from the Magnablend plant, and emergency officials were wearing protective suits. Billowing black smoke at the plan...
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Shintech Louisiana Chemical Exposure Accident Kills Two
by Stacey E. Burke on May 23, 2011
Shintech Louisiana LLC named two workers who were killed in a plant accident Sunday. Tommy Rivet, a Shintech employee and Tory Sanchez, who worked for Performance Contractors, Inc., died after they were overcome by chemical fumes at the Shintech facility south of Plaquemine. Plant manager David Wise said Sanchez had gone into a container to...
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Texas KMTEX Chemical Plant Explosion | Texas Industrial Accident Lawyers
by Stacey E. Burke on April 01, 2011
One Texas chemical plant worker was killed and at least three others were injured after an explosion and flash fire Thursday at the KMTEX plant near Port Arthur. State and federal agencies are already investigating how a highly flammable coal tar naptha solvent remained in the pipeline where welders were working. The line was believed to be ...
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Scottie Burnett, Louisiana Worker, Killed in Fatal Texas Workplace Accident
by Jonathan S. Harris on March 21, 2011
Texas investigative authorities have released the name of a man killed in an industrial accident on Saturday afternoon, March 19, 2011. Scottie Burnett, 40, of Dodson, Louisiana, was tragically killed while working on a Texas job site at 11000 Moore Road. Little detail has been made available about the accident, but early media reports indi...
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Texas Construction Workers Injured in Santa Fe High School Auditorium Collapse
by Stacey E. Burke on March 18, 2011
Three workers were injured Friday morning by steel beams that collapsed in the Santa Fe High School auditorium that was under construction in the 16000 block of state Highway 6. The school district is building an auditorium on the high school campus. The construction was in its beginning phases. A crane at the site was used to lift a 12-foot l...
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Fatal Valero St. Charles Refinery Accident | Louisiana Refinery Lawyers
by Stacey E. Burke on March 07, 2011
Victor Rodriguez, only 30 years old, a contract worker from Houston, Texas, was killed and another contracter was injured in an accident Sunday at the Valero St. Charles Refinery in Norco, Louisiana. The fatal incident occurred in the refinery's catalytic cracking unit, which was shut down at the time of the accident. This unit was shut down at...
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Mont Belvieu Refinery Explosion Lawyers for Enterprise Products Fire
by Jonathan S. Harris on February 11, 2011
It is back to business as usual at the Enterprise Products Partners LP petrochemical plant near Houston already, even after the fatal fire and explosion earlier this week. The blaze started Tuesday at the natural gas liquids storage terminal in Mont Belvieu. The blaze was later left to burn itself out. Both federal and state investigative ...
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Enterprise Products Refinery Fire in Mont Belvieu | Texas Refinery Explosion Lawyers
by Stacey E. Burke on February 08, 2011
Enterprise Products' facility in Mont Belvieu, Texas has reported a petrochemical plant fire, about 35 miles east of Houston. Witnesses describe intense heat and seeing nearby trucks exploded as a result of that heat. Callers in to local media outlets report having heard loud explosions. The company reports that the fire took place at th...
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Alabama Lumber Yard Accident Causes Death | Alabama Injury Lawyers
by Stacey E. Burke on January 06, 2011
A tragedy occurred in the very last moments of 2010 in Alabama. On December 31 in the town of Vance, just outside Tuscaloosa, a 22-year-old lumber yard was struck and killed by a log that fell from a lumber processing machine at KyKenKee Inc. The timber company is located on Highway 11 North in Vance, Alabama. Preliminary reports indicat...
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Houston News Update: Travis Turner Killed in Fatal Tram Accident at Bush Airport
by Stacey E. Burke on October 27, 2010
The NTSB and OSHA are investigating yesterday's deadly accident at Bush Intercontinental Airport. Travis Turner, 57, was killed on the 40-foot high elevated tram tracks. Mr. Turner was a Houston contactor working on the elevated portion of the automated people mover (APM) track outside airport Terminal B. Tragically, Mr. Turner was killed ...
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Breaking Houston News: Bush Airport Tram Accident | People Mover
by Stacey E. Burke on October 26, 2010
(photo from KHOU staff)Two Houston contract workers were injured today, one of them fatally, in a collision along the tracks of an elevated people mover at Bush Intercontinental Airport. The Houston airport tram collision occurred about 11:40 a.m. on an elevated track near the Marriott Hotel and Bush Airport Terminals. The contractors wer...
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Apolonio Arras, Texas Worker Killed in Plant Explosion
by Stacey E. Burke on October 18, 2010
BREAKING/DEVELOPING: The El Paso County Sheriff's Office has confirmed the death of an employee at the Arcelor Mittal Plant formerly known as Border Steel. Apolonio Arras, 57, of Anthony, Texas was killed following reports of an explosion at about 2:40 a.m. Monday morning. Employees at the plant, located at 8001 Border Steel, reported he...
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Justin Wood Killed in Gretna Oilfield Explosion
by Stacey E. Burke on September 27, 2010
Justin Wood, a 27-year-old Gretna man was killed as the result of an oilfield explosion Friday. Wood was working with oil field equipment when an explosion occurred during a pressure test. Wood was working at a Supreme Services job site, 108 Southwood Road, at the time of his fatal workplace accident. The oilfield workers were said to be u...
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Two BP Refinery Pipefitters Suffer Steam Burns at Texas City Refinery
by Stacey E. Burke on September 22, 2010
BP PLC said Wednesday two of its employees have been hospitalized after suffering steam burns while performing work at a process unit at its Texas City, Texas, refinery. Local media outlets are reporting that the two employees are pipefitters at BP's Texas City refinery. The two injured refinery workers were taken to a local hospital after sus...
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OSHA Invests Heavily in Health & Safety Training | Texas Industrial Accident Lawyers
by Stacey E. Burke on September 14, 2010
Employee training is one of the pillars of workplace safety. A trained worker is able to identify potential hazards in the workplace, and avoid these successfully. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investing in health and safety training for American workers. The agency has announced $8 million in grants for a number of org...
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Houston Construction Company Cited for Trenching Negligence | Texas Construction Accident Lawyers
by Stacey E. Burke on September 01, 2010
OSHA cited Conrad Construction Co. Inc. in Houston, Texas with one alleged willful and two alleged serious violations for failing to protect workers who were replacing manholes on an existing storm sewer line. Proposed penalties total $40,000.While no one was injured, OSHA did find violations of workplace safety standards. A willful violation w...
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Texas Cites Houston Energy in Fatal Texas Pipeline Explosion
by Stacey E. Burke on September 01, 2010
The Texas Railroad Commission has found that a Houston company failed to adequately mark the path of a buried 36-inch natural gas pipeline in Johnson County that was struck and exploded in June, killing one person. Enterprise Products Operating violated several Texas regulations, which may lead to fines of $10,000 per day per violation. The...
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Texas Pipeline Welders Injured in Texas Work-Related Motor Vehicle Accident
by Stacey E. Burke on August 25, 2010
Two gas pipeline workers were injured in League City, Texas yesterday, including one man who was pinned between two vehicles. The two injured Texas pipeline workers were aged 28 and 48 and both worked for Troy Construction.A medical helicopter took the 48 year-old Troy Construction worker to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston out of fear that...
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Residents Unaware of Toxic Release at BP Refinery | TX Benzene Lawyers
by Stacey E. Burke on August 20, 2010
For 40 days, flares burned 500,000 pounds of toxic chemicals over BP's Texas City refinery. Yet residents didn't know until weeks later that the flare released 17,000 pounds of cancer-causing benzene. The reason: State law required BP to report the unauthorized release of chemicals only twice - once when the incident began and once two weeks af...
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Drop in Fatal Workplace Injuries in 2009 Due to Economy | Texas Work Injury Lawyers
by Stacey E. Burke on August 20, 2010
Drop in Fatal Workplace Injuries in 2009 The Bureau of Labor Statistics' National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries this week released a report, which showed a decline of 17% in workplace fatalities over 2008. Overall, there were a total of 4,340 worker deaths last year, compared to 5,214 worker fatalities in 2008. In fact, the overall nu...
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BP Agrees to Pay $50 Million Fine in Texas City Refinery Explosion
by Matthew D. Shaffer on August 12, 2010
BP has agreed to pay a record fine of $50 million for safety violations at its Texas City refinery. That refinery was the scene of a massive blast in 2005 that killed 15 plant workers and injured dozens of others. Long before the Deepwater Horizon explosion blew the lid off BP's safety record, the Texas City refinery was a stunning testament t...
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Lake Jackson Matula and Matula Cited for Employee Death in Texas Sewer Accident
by Stacey E. Burke on August 09, 2010
A company based in Lake Jackson, Texas has been cited for the death of a worker in a sewer accident. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the company Matula and Matula Construction in the death of the 23-year-old worker, who died earlier this year. The worker had crawled into an abandoned sewer, and was found dead a few hou...
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Austin Mandates Regular Rest Breaks for Construction Workers
by Stacey E. Burke on August 05, 2010
Construction safety in Austin had come under the scanner after the deaths of three construction workers in a scaffolding collapse accident at a building under construction in June 2009. This week, the Austin City Council told construction companies that they must provide workers 10 minutes of rest for every four hours of work. The Council unan...
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Strong Need to Study Long-Term Health Effects of BP Spill
by Matthew D. Shaffer on August 04, 2010
There is an urgent need to research the long-term effects of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Maritime lawyers and safety advocates fear that now that the well has stopped gushing, attention will be diverted away from this topic, and health concerns from the oil spill brushed under the carpet. It's important to keep focus on the safety ...
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Researchers Look at Ways to Reduce Workplace Injuries by Tackling Fatigue
by Stacey E. Burke on August 02, 2010
Researchers at the University of New Brunswick are considering new approaches to the prevention of workplace injuries. They're specifically looking at how fatigue affects muscle strain. There has been a lot of focus on the prevention of back injuries in the workplace in recent years. However, much of the research in this area has been conduct...
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Accident at ConocoPhillips refinery in Borger, Texas Injures 13
by Stacey E. Burke on August 02, 2010
Thirteen workers were hurt on Saturday in a process upset at ConocoPhillips' refinery in Borger, Texas. The Borger refinery is a 50/50 business venture with Cenovus Energy, and is able to process up to 146,000 barrels of crude oil a day. ConocoPhillips reported a brief emissions event Saturday at its Borger, Texas, refinery stemming from an...
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OSHA Cites Thermal Polymer Systems For Texas Workplace Explosion Fatality
by Stacey E. Burke on July 28, 2010
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Thermal Polymer Systems LC of Angleton, Texas, following an explosion inside a permit-required confined space that killed one worker and injured two others. Mark Blevins, 56, died on Saturday, January 30th, 2010 as a result of injuries sustained in the Texas work...
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Heat-Related Illnesses Affect Texas Construction Workers during Summer
by Stacey E. Burke on July 27, 2010
Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are serious risks in the workplace during the hot, sweltering days of summer. The risks are even higher for construction workers who may be required to spend long periods of time out in the sun. A hot workplace where a worker has no access to proper protective gear, can place a person at risk of heat exhaustion ...
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Gas Well Worker Crushed to Death by Drilling Equipment | Texas Industrial Accident Attorneys
by Stacey E. Burke on July 21, 2010
The incredible hazards that workers in the oil and gas industry constantly face not just on the water, but also on land, were clear to see in a fatal industrial accident last week in Arlington. The worker was working at a gas well near the Kennedale border, when a large piece of drilling equipment apparently fell on him. The worker was almost ...
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OSHA Cites Enbridge G & P in Fatal Industrial Accident in Texas
by Stacey E. Burke on July 19, 2010
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Enbridge G & P with several violations in the death of a worker, after a hydrogen sulfide leak at the company's Douglasville plant. The company has been cited with two alleged willful and five alleged serious violations. OSHA began its investigation earlier this year after the accide...
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Hearing Loss Among Texas Construction Workers | Texas Personal Injury Lawyers
by Stacey E. Burke on July 13, 2010
The construction industry is not just one of the deadliest workplaces, but also one of the noisiest ones. For construction workers, loss of hearing is a very real risk that often goes undetected among the crane accidents, scaffolding collapses, trench cave-ins and other construction accidents we come across every day. The fact is that there...
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Dallas Construction Workers Killed in Truck Boom Collapse | Texas Construction Lawyers
by Stacey E. Burke on July 01, 2010
Two construction workers were killed last week when the boom of the concrete pumping truck they were working on, collapsed on them. Two other persons were seriously injured in the accident which occurred at about five on Thursday morning. Both the victims as well as the two injured workers, were employees of Reliable Concrete of Dallas-Fort Wort...
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Do Repetitive Stress Injuries Cause a Roofer to Age before His Time?
by Stacey E. Burke on June 30, 2010
The construction industry is the deadliest workplace in the US, but even in this industry, roofers seem to have some of the highest rates of injury. These workers typically work in all kinds of weather conditions, and often work under tight deadlines. Falls are some of the most common accidents that roofers suffer, and consequently, broken bone...
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Texas Truck Accident Kills Construction Worker | Texas Work Site Accident Lawyers
by Jonathan S. Harris on June 30, 2010
A construction worker was killed when a truck mowed into a construction convoy on Texas 73 about 8 miles west of Port Arthur last week. The accident occurred last Monday at about 10:30 PM. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the workers were engaged in painting lane stripes and reflective markers when the truck trailer slammed i...
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