DEER PARK, Texas – WITNESS ACCOUNT: ‘Like something out of a movie’: Eyewitness recalls car crash that sparked Deer Park explosion
We have confirmed that an SUV drove into a pipe valve, which sparked the huge explosion in Deer Park Monday.
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That valve station was adjacent to a Walmart parking lot and a witness told KPRC 2′s Corley Peel they suspected the driver was elderly and may have had a medical emergency when the car headed toward the bushes, crashed through a fence and hit the valve.
Authorities have not identified the driver and don’t expect that to happen until the fire is out and the area has cooled enough for investigators to do their work.
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Hours after the natural gas line fire, Energy Transfer, the company that owns the pipeline, had already acknowledged this in a statement:
“We are aware of early reports indicating that an unknown passenger car entered our right-of-way and struck the valve location.”
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The city of Deer Park later confirmed that a white sport utility vehicle had driven through a fence on the west side of Wal-Mart’s parking lot located at 9025 Spencer Hwy. The vehicle entered the adjacent pipeline right-of-way and struck an above-ground pipeline valve.
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The Deer Park Police Department and local FBI agents conducted the initial investigation, with preliminary reports suggesting no terroristic activity.
The Deer Park Police Department is conducting the investigation.
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