| By Bob Weaver
A Mink Shoals man is dead after his company truck collided with a Dominion-Hope
tanker on State Route 16 near Orma. Police identified the man as Greg Oakes, an
employee of Hope Gas Company. Authorities at the scene said the Oakes vehicle
apparently went left of center in a sharp turn, striking a tanker filled with crude
oil.
Dave Lough of Grantsville, the driver of the tanker, was traveling north on Rt. 16.
Lough said he drove into the hillside attempting to avoid a collision. His tanker turned
on its side and began spilling crude oil from a top cap. He was taken to Minnie
Hamilton Health Care Center, reportedly uninjured.
The injured man was trapped in his vehicle for nearly an hour as emergency workers
feverishly provided treatment and used the jaws of life to extract him. Calhoun EMS,
the Upper West Fork VFD and the Arnoldsburg VFD responded to the scene shortly
after 1:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.
HealthNet from Charleston Area Medical Center landed in a nearby meadow to
life-flight Oakes to the hospital, at which time he coded. Calhoun EMS and emergency
personnel continued life-support and CPR efforts in an attempt to resuscitate him. His
body was taken to the Stump Funeral Home in Arnoldsburg, and later
sent to the Medical Examiner's office in Charleston.
A company employee said Oakes had suffered other problems during the past year,
having broken his legs in a fall from a tree stand and his son being killed in an
accident.
The fire departments sprayed the tanker area with foam, although there was no fire.
Dominion-Hope employees arrived on the scene to secure the spill and transfer the oil
into another tanker. Traffic was backed up for at least two miles in either direction,
with the wreck scene not being cleared until about 4:45 p.m.
Calhoun Sheriff Allen Parsons and Deputy Carl Ballengee assisted with the wreck
scene and are investigating the accident.
Accident just north of Orma Post Office
Rescue workers use Jaws of Life
Tanker hauling crude oil
Fireman work for nearly an hour to extract victim
EMS personel deliver CPR enroute to Health Net chopper
Dominion-Hope employees contain oil spill | 
