Officials identify driver who crashed into a Texas pipeline and sparked a 4-day fire
Workers stand near a pipeline fire in Deer Park, Texas, on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. The fire had dramatically shrunk in size since it began on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, and officials said they expected it to be extinguished sometime Thursday evening. Credit: AP/Juan A. Lozano
The driver of a vehicle that crashed into a pipeline valve and sparked a four-day fire that forced the evacuation of nearby neighborhoods in a Houston suburb was a local 51-year-old man, according to police.
Remains found in the SUV following the fire are those of Jonathan McEvoy of Deer Park, according to a statement Monday night from Deer Park Police Lt. Chris Brown.
The cause of McEvoy's death and why the vehicle he was driving went through a fence alongside a Walmart parking lot and struck the above-ground valve remained under investigation, Brown said Tuesday.
“We're still gathering information ... but I don't know that we'll ever have an exact determination” of the cause, Brown said.
Energy Transfer, the Dallas-based company that owns the pipeline, called the crash an accident and preliminary investigations by police and FBI agents found no evidence of a coordinated or terrorist attack.
McEvoy's former wife, Delma McEvoy, and son, Jonathan McEvoy Jr. told KPRC-TV that McEvoy had recently experienced seizures and believe that led to the crash.
Neither Delma McEvoy nor Jonathan McEvoy Jr. immediately returned phone calls to The Associated Press on Tuesday.
A pipeline fire continues to burn for a second day near Deer Park, Texas, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. The explosion forced residents in hundreds of nearby homes to evacuate. Credit: AP/Paul Weber
Brown said no missing person report was filed for Jonathan McEvoy Sr. but declined to discuss whether the family had been questioned about the man.
Following the Sept. 16 crash, the fire burned for four days as it was allowed to burn itself out, forcing nearby residents to flee the intense heat, which partially melted vehicles and mailboxes.
McEvoy's remains were not recovered until after the fire went out as the SUV remained near the valve.
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