LIBERTY, Texas — In the quiet of a Tuesday afternoon, the small town of Liberty was jolted by tragedy and the mounting unease of neighbors who say they’ve long felt the tremors of an oil-field operation that’s inching ever closer to their homes. On Monday, deputies say 68-year-old Guillermo Contreras of Liberty was pronounced dead after being struck and run over by the trailer portion of an 18-wheeler at a drilling site near the China community.
Contreras’ death pulled back the curtain on months of community complaints about an adjacent drilling operation whose impact — from vibrations rattling homes to noise so loud it drowned out conversation — residents say has been steadily growing. “About six or seven months ago, we started to feel this vibration in our homes, which was kind of weird,” said neighbor Pam Efferson. On October 20, she says the noise peaked: “It was so loud that you and I would not be able to have a conversation out here. It was over 80 decibels.”
Another resident, Patricia Flores, returned from vacation to find her home’s floor cracked, which she believes was triggered by the drilling-site vibrations. For her and others, the fatal accident has sparked deeper anxiety: “For me, it was heartbreaking,” Efferson said. “I don’t know this person, but I know they had a family. And I feel like if something like that is already taking place, and there’s no oversight, there’s no one taking care of the people who live here.”
Officials say the site is operated by Zachry Exploration, LLC, and that the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the federal labor watchdog Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) have launched investigations to determine what went wrong. The sheriff’s office confirmed Contreras was working at the site when he was struck. Commissioner Brandon Willis of Jefferson County says he’s received repeated complaints about noise, vibrations and odors from the well site — concerns he calls “typical of a well site,” but says what’s “not typical” is the lack of information given to adjoining residents.
Residents say they had hoped the operator would step forward sooner to ease fears, but so far there has been no public outreach. “I really would have appreciated them getting out in front of this and saying, ‘Here’s what we’re doing, this is the process,’ but that didn’t happen,” Willis said. Meanwhile, 12News reports the company has been contacted for comment and is still pending a response.
At the heart of the community’s distress is not only the death of a neighbor but the larger question of what living next to heavy-industrial operations means when the hum, shake and vibration become part of daily life. For many, what started as an odd vibration or loud night became a sharp reminder of risk. The OSHA investigation, still in its early stages, is expected to look at work-site safety protocols, vehicle movement on site, and how large trucks and trailers are managed in proximity to workers. According to local reports, Contreras was struck by the trailer portion of an 18-wheeler at the site.
For the community of Liberty, the incident has become a catalyst for action. Residents say they will press for transparency, better oversight of operations, more information from the operator and stronger safety enforcement from regulatory and county authorities. The crash, they say, should stand for more than a fatality — it is a wake-up call. As one neighbor put it, “If something like that is already taking place, and there’s no oversight, there’s no one taking care of the people who live here.”
In the wake of this tragedy, Liberty’s residents are left with grief, unanswered questions and an urgent push for accountability. The story of Guillermo Contreras is being forcefully sewn into the larger narrative of industrial growth right where people live — and the very real consequences when the ground moves, the noise climbs and safety feels too distant.
