Human remains were found inside, sadly.
Deer Park city officials confirmed human remains were found in the vehicle involved in the pipeline fire near Deer Park and La Porte after it was towed away Thursday morning following the four-day-long incident that led to the evacuation of nearby homes.
Authorities said the situation has now developed into a criminal investigation, and that no further information will be released until a motive is determined and the investigation concludes.
Deer Park OEM spokesperson Kaitlyn Bluejacket said the Deer Park Police Department and Harris County Medical Examiner are preparing to begin the next steps of the investigation into how the emergency transpired at the Energy Transfer property off Spencer Highway.
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Deer Park OEM officials said in a Thursday statement that Energy Transfer is working with third-party contractors to contain the fire through the installation of appropriate infrastructure. The company said the fire has had no effect on air quality, but it will continue to monitor air quality levels.
Deer Park officials lifted the evacuation order for areas surrounding the fire Wednesday at 6 p.m. Spencer Highway between Luella Avenue and East/Canada Boulevard remains closed. The Walmart on Spencer Highway reopened at 10 a.m. Thursday. Air monitoring will continue at nearby schools, including Heritage Elementary and College Park Elementary as of Thursday morning.
Lauren Brogdon, an attorney who leads Haynes Boone’s crisis management practice group, said it might be a while before answers and resolutions are finalized.
“These things often take several years, because of the investigations that need to happen and because of the exchange of documents and interviews of witnesses,” Brogdon said.
See here for some background. No details about the driver had been released as of yesterday. My condolences to their family and friends. I hope we are able to learn what exactly happened, why it happened, and what can be done to prevent it from happening again.
I think the most likely cause is that the driver suffered a severe medical emergency (heart attack, stroke, seizure) and the out of control car very unluckily hit the valve. There’s nothing I can see for prevention on that end. But you can put up sturdier barriers around vulnerable pipeline parts. Considering how many people live so close to such potential dangers, they need to get on this yesterday. Whoever owns it should be responsible.