Officials identify driver who crashed into a pipeline in Texas, starting a four-day fire

The driver of a vehicle that crashed into a pipeline valve, starting a four-day fire that forced the evacuation of surrounding neighborhoods in suburban Houston, was a 51-year-old local man, according to police.

The remains found in the SUV after the fire are those of Jonathan McEvoy of Deer Park, Deer Park police Lt. Chris Brown said Monday evening.

The cause of McEvoy's death and why the vehicle he was driving went through a fence next to a Walmart parking lot and crashed into the above-ground valve remains under investigation, Brown said Tuesday.

“We're still gathering information … but I don't know if we'll ever have a precise 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 suffered seizures and believed that led to the crash.

Neither Delma McEvoy nor Jonathan McEvoy Jr. immediately returned calls to The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Brown said a missing person report has not been filed for Jonathan McEvoy Sr., but declined to discuss whether the family has been interviewed about the man.

After the Sept. 16 accident, the fire burned for four days as it was left to burn itself out, forcing residents to flee the intense heat that partially melted vehicles and mailboxes.

McEvoy's remains were not recovered until the fire went out because the SUV was left near the valve.