McClain County Widow Of Oil Worker Who Died On The Job Waits for Answers

A worker died following an incident at an oil field Sept. 20 in McClain County. Darrell Newton, 30, was working on an oil tank in Wayne when, investigators say, he was overcome by fumes and later died. His widow still has questions about his death while trying to move forward without him.

“If it wasn't for him, I definitely wouldn't be crawling out of bed in the morning,” said Emilee Newton, Darrell Newton’s widow, holding her son DeMari.

She holds him even closer these days following the death of her husband.

“It's hard,” she said. “He got deprived of getting to know his daddy.” 

Newton died unexpectedly while working for C&M Roustabout at a location called Charter Oak Production in Wayne. The McClain County Sheriff’s Office said he had been performing maintenance on the oil tanks when he was overcome with fumes. Emilee said he fell into about 18 inches of crude oil. Someone pulled him from the tank and started CPR, but he later died at the hospital.

“The wait is definitely driving me crazy. Just wondering what or how did this even happened,” Emilee said.

As she waits for answers, she takes comfort in the memories, like celebrating her son’s first birthday just days before Darrell’s death.

“He has a one happy dada shirt on and I’m so glad we got shirts made,” Emilee remembers. “I went all out, you know, it's the first birthday. I kind of felt silly at first but I guess there was a reason, didn't even know it.”

Now she wears a shirt for him, with a picture of her husband on it, in remembrance of his life and what she will miss most.

“His touch, his smile just hearing him say ‘hi baby’ or ‘hi bubba,’ his voice,” she said. “Just his presence, we spent every day together.”

Darrell also leaves behind an older son, stepdaughter, and a huge extended family.

“The impact he tried to put on all of our kids’ lives, he wanted them to be great at everything they did,” she said. “He was very sweet and caring he was, and he loved me unconditionally. I didn't get that growing up and he gave it to me.”

The McClain County Sheriff’s Office is investigating what happened but, like the family, is still waiting for an official cause of death from the medical examiner’s office. The family has set up a GoFundMe, to donate, click here.