Hatcher reportedly ignited the explosion when he unwittingly drove his car through the gassy fog spewing from the ruptured pipeline. Also injured was Rita Franssen, whose home was burned in the blast. She was transported to Abilene Regional Medical Center and was in stable condition late Thursday. Jim Frazier, assistant fire chief, said the rupture most likely occurred when a construction worker operating a bulldozer hit the line, causing the natural gas liquid to spray into the air. The bulldozer operator escaped injury.
Several pipelines run through the immediate area of the blast.
One nearby pipeline belongs to Chevron Corp., but officials of that company quickly identified their's as not being the one that ruptured. Five firefighting trucks initially responded to calls of a structure fire and pipeline explosion. Upon arrival, fire officials upgraded the call to include three hazardous material response vehicles and about five more fire trucks. Units from several surrounding volunteer fire departments responded as well. Abilene city administrators, noting the fire was beyond the southern city limits, did not call their Emergency Operations Center into action.