OSHA fines drilling company after explosion at Kerr Dam kills two men

TULSA, Okla. — FOX23 obtained documents concerning the federal investigation into an explosion at a GRDA dam that killed two workers in 2021.

Those documents, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, raise questions about whether their deaths could have been prevented.

The two men were killed and another was injured last May at the Kerr Dam in Locust Grove.

The Grand River Dam Authority told FOX23 the men were sub-contractors working for a Colorado drilling company.

According to GRDA, 22-year-old Hayden Tucker, and 48-year-old Phillip Hughes were hard at work inside an inspection shaft 80-feet below the surface.

At 6:00 p.m. GRDA reported an explosion caused by a pocket of naturally forming gas.

The blast trapped the men below. About 10-and-a-half hours later rescuers brought their bodies to the surface.

>>>MORE: Two contractors dead following explosion at Kerr Dam

Phillip Hughes was a family man. His daughter described her dad smart and kind.

“He was funny, caring, smart, he was a driller and a miner,” said Victoria Hughes just days after the explosion.

>>>MORE: Families of two men killed in Kerr Dam explosion remember their loved ones

Hayden Tucker was just starting his career. His parents say Hayden was just days into his new job.

Investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) were on site hours later to begin a lengthy investigation.

In a letter dated November 5th, 2021, OSHA investigators found eight violations, which included that the employer did not have the required safety harnesses, did not fully evaluate the rescuers’ ability and rescue plan, exposed workers to hazardous condition and did not report the deaths to OSHA within the required eight hours.

OSHA handed out nearly $190,000 in fines.

>>>MORE: GRDA, contracting company release more information on the two men who died in dam explosion

>>>MORE: Families still looking for answers after explosion at Robert S. Kerr Dam

DA Smith Drilling is contesting all the citations. OSHA says they are currently still in litigation.

For several months FOX23 has been calling DA Smith Drilling for its side of the story. We either briefly spoke on the phone, was hung up on or had to leave a voicemail.

FOX23 did get answers from the chief medical examiner in Tulsa. According to their autopsy reports, both men suffered trauma from the explosion. They died from asphyxiation. It is not known how long the two men lingered before dying of suffocation.

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