The city of Deer Park, Texas, said Thursday it has opened a criminal investigation into a fatal car crash this week that caused a gas line to explode, resulting in a tower of flames that has been burning for days.
Monday’s blast killed the driver of the vehicle, who has not yet been identified, authorities said, and damaged nearby homes.
On Thursday, authorities were able to remove a white sport utility vehicle that was badly damaged in an explosion near a shopping mall and residential development just east of Houston. Medical examiners from Harris County were trying to identify the remains recovered from the vehicle.
Investigators quickly ruled out terrorism, but it was uncertain whether the crash was an accident or whether the driver was targeting a pipeline owned by Energy Exchange, a private company, that carries natural gas liquids.
Officials said the video was captured on a camera in a nearby van Posted by local TV station KHOUIt showed the moment the white vehicle, traveling at high speed, crashed into a fence surrounding an underground valve on the pipeline and burst into flames.
Lina Hidalgo, the top elected official in Harris County, called the crash an accident at a news conference Thursday, but she said investigators are still looking into the details of what happened. “They’ll decide if it’s more than that,” he said.
Although the fire was still not fully extinguished Thursday, the blaze had subsided from its original height due to residual gas inside the pipe, sending black smoke visible for miles as it stretched above nearby power lines.
The reduction of the fire and its intense heat allowed residents to return and assess the damage to their homes and belongings, some of which melted Or were drenched by firefighters trying to stop the fire from spreading.
Ms. Hidalgo said she spoke to residents who were in the home at the time of the crash and described how the explosion shook their entire home. “A lot of them don’t want to live there anymore,” he said.
The blast occurred near the line between Deer Park and La Porte, an area of refineries and petrochemical complexes along the Houston Ship Canal. Many residents work in the oil and gas industry.
In 2019, a major fire broke out at a petrochemical storage facility in Deer Park Toxic chemicals become airborne And authorities issued shelter orders.
In a series of statements this week, the energy transfer company said it was cooperating with investigators and that affected residents were being offered hotel accommodations during the evacuation. “The safest way to manage this process is to allow the product to burn,” the agency said, adding that “there is no impact on air quality.”
At least seven homes in a neighborhood known as East Meadow sustained major damage, and dozens more were affected, said Caitlin Bluejacket, spokeswoman for the city of Deer Park.
The flames, which subsided Thursday, allowed investigators to finally extricate the vehicle, he said.
He said the Deer Park Police Department would lead the investigation into the accident, adding that the Central Bureau of Investigation had initially probed whether terrorism was involved in the blast. “The FBI fixed it right off the bat,” he said.
