On 22 March, this double-tanker-truck carrying a full, heavy load slid off North Gage Road about 11 miles from Route 12. There were no injuries or leakage of petroleum, and the oil was syphoned out of the front tank allowing it and the truck to be removed from the ditch that evening. The next day a rescue team from Brewers and Rocky Mountain Crude Oil spent 1 ½ hours syphoning oil and removing the back tank out of the chasm of a borrow-pit. The driver discussed with the owner of the property why the accident occurred. “About a mile of the road is very dangerous,” he said. According to the head of the road department, the County Road Crew, after upgrading the road with deep ditches a few years ago, then applied sub-standard gravel bought at below-market prices. The driver stated, “This gravel consists primarily of dirt that expands when wet.” When driving to the well sites he radioed his company in Billings the condition of the road. They ordered him to fill the tanks and return. The heavy weight of the load caused the tanks to jack-knife into the ditch.

This is not the first such accident in that area. About 1 ½ years ago the same happened to another oil company, Beartooth, not 50 yards from the same location. The owners of the property are thankful the equipment is up-to-date and sturdy, for both accidents had the potential to poison their and others’ water supplies and start fires that could not only consume their home and property, but also their lives. They have been in contact with the head of the road department to no avail, even though that road is a main artery for the oil fields.