Oil tanker crash claims life of Gray business owner

A local business owner died from injuries suffered in an oil tanker crash early Sunday morning near Corbin.
Glenn Bennett, 48, of Gray, owner of Bennett Oil Company, was pronounced dead at the University of Kentucky Medical Center Sunday at 12:54 a.m. According to the Laurel County Sheriff’s Department, Bennett was driving a tanker, used by his company, on U.S. 25 N and lost control of the vehicle when a tire dropped off the shoulder of the road at about 4:00 a.m. He tried to regain control but could not and the truck flipped six times before rolling to a stop and catching fire. The accident happened in front of the offices of Professional Home Health.
Bennett suffered severe burns in the crash. Police could not determine if he was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident.
Donald Napier, 21, a passenger in the vehicle was also injured in the crash. He was treated at the UK Hospital and released Tuesday.
Bennett’s wife, Melissa Bennett, remembers her husband as a kind man who always was willing to help others.
“It’s been hard,” she said. “He had the biggest heart I’ve ever seen. He was always giving to people. I’m not just saying it to be saying it. You wouldn’t believe that man’s heart.”
Melissa Bennett said her husband specialized in hauling used oil, mostly reclaimed from motor vehicles. The couple had been together for 12 years.
Bennett was surrounded by about 50 family members and friends when he died.
The accident caused the roadway to be shut down for about nine hours. Police say only a small portion of the tanker’s 3,000 gallons of petroleum leaked onto the roadway.
Funeral services will be held for Bennett today, Dec. 21, at 1:00 p.m. at Corbin Funeral Home. He will be buried at Calvary Cemetery.
Bennett is survived by his parents Ed and Helen Bennett, of Corbin; wife Melissa; three daughters Tina Sizemore, of Gray, Trish Bennett, of London, and Andi Bennett of Corbin. He has one brother, Gary, and four sisters: Marietta Serwee of Jacksonville, Sharon Haley, of Corbin, Vickie Wyatt, of Louisville, and Debra McCarty, of Corbin. He had one grandson, Colton Sizemore.