Accident crushes rig worker
Accident crushes rig worker
Fatal mishap claims Wyoming man
By MARVIN BAKER
EDITOR
An accident last week on a Mountrail County oil rig site has claimed the life of a 33-year-old Jackson, Wyo., man.
Timothy David Beavers died at the scene last Wednesday on the Nabors No. 161 rig about 10 miles west of Parshall, following the accident that involved the movement of the 850,000-pound drilling rig.
According to Mountrail County Sheriff Ken Halvorson, Beavers was assisting in the movement of the rig to a new location, and the crew had just skidded the rig with its derek raised about 60 feet, when the accident occurred.
“Company officials at the drilling site stated that Mr. Beavers was operating a payloader with a forklift attachment, which he was using to pull and assist the two rig-moving boom trucks that were attached to the rig,” Halvorson said. “Mr. Beavers had gotten out of the payloader to release a chain, but had not let the driver of the boom truck know he had left the cab.”
“The driver of the boom truck stated to officers that he couldn’t see Mr. Beavers on the ground in front of his truck,” Halvorson continued. “The truck driver moved his vehicle forward which caused Mr. Beavers to become pinned between the front bumper of the boom truck and the forklift attachment.”
