Well driller dies after sink hole caves in off CR 341

By Carrie A. Mizell

The parents of a 52-year-old well driller were on scene Sunday morning when their son’s body was pulled from a sink hole off County Road 341.
Johnn Clyde Smith, 52, of O’Brien, was reportedly drilling a well Saturday afternoon in an open field owned by White Farms and located east of County Road 341.

According to Major Tony Smith of the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office, Smith’s family members grew concerned when he didn’t come home Saturday evening from the well drilling job he was working in Gilchrist County.
Family members reportedly called their friend Murray Tillis of Chiefland and asked that he ride out to where Smith had been working earlier in the day to see if his rig had broken down, or something had gone wrong.
After discovering Smith’s well drilling rig upended some 15 feet down in a sink hole, Tillis called family members and the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office, who arrived on scene shortly after 11:30 on Saturday night.
“We don’t know what time the accident occurred,” Major Smith said on Monday. “All we know is that the last people to see him were some farmers, around 1 p.m., who were also working in the field getting it ready to plant corn.”
Gilchrist County Road Department Superintendent Billy Cannon and a crew arrived around midnight with heavy equipment to pull the heavy well drilling rig from the hole. According to Major Smith, it took the crew four hours of hard work to remove the rig, which weighed an estimated 85,000 pounds.
“It was too dangerous to send rescue workers down in the hole because the ground was giving way,” Major Smith said.
Rescue workers were also helped by Johnn Smith’s father, who was a well driller for a number of years and the founder of Johnny Smith’s Well Drilling.
“His father used to own the business so he knew how unstable sink holes are,” Major Smith said. “He was adament that no one else risk their life going in the sink hole.”
The body of Johnn Smith was pulled from the sink hole between 4:30 and 5:30 a.m. on Sunday after it was recovered beneath the well drilling rig.
According to Major Smith, a counselor was coming in to talk with rescue workers this week who may be having trouble dealing with the accident.
The Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Gilchrist County Road Department for their help with this accident, as well as EMS and firefighters from Gilchrist County Fire-Rescue who also were on scene throughout the night on Saturday.