Medical examiners have ruled the driver who crashed into a pipeline in Deer Park died from suicide.
Back in mid-September, a pipeline explosion sent flames hundreds of feet into the air, prompting evacuations and road closures in the area.
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A driver, later identified by Harris County medical examiners as Jonathan McEvoy, 51, of Deer Park, went through a fence on the west side of Wal-Mart’s parking lot, located on Spencer Hwy. His vehicle entered the adjacent pipeline right-of-way and struck an above-ground pipeline valve.
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A motive was not shared, but KPRC 2′s Deven Clarke reported in late September that authorities were treating the incident as a criminal investigation. A medical examination revealed, however, that McEvoy died of suicide.
The temperature from the pipeline fire was so intense it torched a nearby playground. Firefighters hosed down their equipment and nearby homes, but that wasn’t enough to fight back against the radiant heat.
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Many homes were damaged, dozens of residents were forced to evacuate the area and it took a little over three days before the pipeline’s flames extinguished.
As a result, investigators had to wait days until they reported finding McEvoy’s remains inside the charred vehicle he borrowed from his roommate.
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McEvoy’s family told KPRC 2 back in late September he recently started having seizures but wasn’t diagnosed and had not been on medication. They believe he had a seizure, which led to the crash.