Slush Pile: Fuel tank, lit match, KABOOM!

2007 Slush Pile

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Fuel tank, lit match, KABOOM!

2007 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

Stupid kids light a match on top of a fuel storage tank, blow themselves up.

Brand new story, just happened this weekend.

http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/tank_3631___article.html/trevi%C3%B1o_explosion.html

Deadly Blast 3 killed in Mercedes fuel tank explosion

By AMANDA HARRIS MERCEDES — Three people were killed and their bodies burned beyond recognition Friday when a fuel storage tank exploded in a field near Mercedes, Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said. “I’m going to estimate by their stature that they were between 13 years old to maybe 16 years old,” Treviño said. “They will most likely be identified through DNA.” Officials found two bodies near the explosion site and another approximately 30 yards away, he said. The explosion occurred off Pedro Martinez Road near Highway 281 between 2:20 p.m. and 3 p.m. officials said. “It appears that three young people, and I can’t tell you the age, not even the sex at this point, were messing around with the storage tank with some sort of petroleum-based liquid or oil,” Treviño said. “It appears that one of them got on top, opened the can and maybe either lit (a) lighter or a match and that’s when it exploded.” The tank was in an empty field dotted with yellow wildflowers across from Waterfall Street, where concerned residents gathered and waited to learn identities of the three victims. There was a dirt road off Pedro Martinez Road, near Waterfall Road, with a gate at the entrance that went through the field and toward the tank. However, there was not any type of barrier around the tank, Treviño said. “It was totally unsecured,” Treviño said. “There is not a fence, not a gate — nothing to prohibit anyone from entering the site.” There weren’t any vehicles at the scene, which led investigators to believe that the victims walked there, Treviño said. When the tank exploded, part of it was projected away from the explosion site into the field. “You can tell that (the portion of the tank) didn’t tumble over there,” Treviño said. “It flew up into the air and landed there.” Treviño said an investigator located a lighter in the field near the explosion, but weren’t sure if that was what ignited the tank’s combustible contents. The tank was almost three-fourths full of an unknown petroleum-based substance, based on the line marking the portion of the tank that landed in the field, Treviño said. There were also footprints on the top as if someone was standing on it, he said. Treviño said one person may have stood on the tank and lit a match or sparked a lighter, which could have caused the explosion and launched that person away from the blast site. The other two people were most likely standing near the base of the tank when it exploded, he said, which could be why their bodies were found near the base of the explosion. Officials were still investigating the explosion scene to determine the official cause of the blast near the cylindrical storage tank, which was about 10 feet in diameter, Treviño said. Mercedes resident Joe Piñon, 26, lives near the explosion site and was in the area when the blast occurred, he said. “I was at home and I was walking to my brother’s house when I heard the explosion,” Piñon said. “I ran and got into my truck and drove over here. It was pretty bad. You could see all of the smoke and the fire.” Students from the Mercedes school district gathered near Waterfall Street in the late afternoon, concerned that the deceased were classmates. Some sat on the side of the road in the grass, crying and hugging one another. There was old graffiti marking a portion of the tank and there were old beer bottles scattered near the site, indicating that the spot was probably a gathering place for area teens, Treviño said. Mercedes resident Vidal Vallia, 18, lives in a house at the intersection of Waterfall and Pedro Martinez Road, and said area teens frequent the area near the tank. Vallia never thought there was any danger near the tank because it wasn’t fenced, he said. “Everybody walks out there to hang out,” Vallia said. Vallia heard the explosion and was part of a group of Waterfall Street residents and other Mercedes teens that attempted to walk through the field to the site to try to identify the bodies, but Hidalgo County Sheriff officials stopped them. “They told us that they were collecting evidence and to leave and that we weren’t helping them any,” Vallia said. Treviño said the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s office would continue working with the fire marshall to piece together what happened.

Now for the follow-up. http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/explosion_3682___article.html/three_tank.html

Explosion aftermath Families’ attorneys, investigators inspecting area of explosion that killed 3

By AMANDA HARRIS MERCEDES — There were few people on Waterfall Road Saturday afternoon as sheriff’s investigators continued to inspect the site of an explosion that killed three people south of Mercedes. Attorneys representing two families in the area were also at the site of Friday’s blast, looking into the circumstances that led to three people being burned beyond recognition. But the scene was in marked contrast to the day before. Friday, the street was crowded with worried residents and students from the Mercedes school district. Many of them went into the field where the explosion occurred, but were turned back by investigators. Saturday, the atmosphere on Waterfall Road had become quiet, and only a few children played in the street — one young boy riding a bike back and forth and a few others tossing a football, at one point. Concerned residents and their family members and friends waited inside homes and on front porches along the street to hear any news. Francis Galvan lives on the corner of Waterfall Road and Pedro Martinez Road, near the explosion site. Galvan said she saw three boys on the side of her home before 2:30 p.m. Friday. “We saw them hanging out in between the houses and we saw them cross the street into the field,” Galvan said. Sheriff’s investigators have not confirmed the identities of the three victims. “We’re at the scene and I think we’ve recovered most of the evidence,” Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said. “We’re going to have to rely on some expert opinion now.” Treviño said the identities were still not confirmed as of Saturday because officials needed to conduct DNA testing. Based on the statures of the bodies, Treviño believes that they were between 13 and 16 years old. Saturday, two attorneys said they represented two families in the area and were conducting their own investigation into the explosion. “We represent the Torres family and the Gonzalez family. But we don’t feel comfortable in listing the victims’ names until they are positively identified by the coroner, which will take place on Monday,” said Craig Sico, an attorney at Sico, White and Braugh, LLP. “It’s our intention as lawyers for the victims’ families to get experts to join in the evaluation of the scene.” The attorneys planned to seek a temporary restraining order to secure the perimeter of the explosion site on Monday to prevent any further changes at the scene, said attorney Jason Hoelscher, a partner at Sico, White and Braugh LLP. The firm has offices in Corpus Christi, Austin and Los Angeles, Sico said. Hoelscher said he and his associates believe there have been private investigators on the scene already. “We believe the investigators were privately hired by who we believe are the landowners,” Hoelscher said. Sico said they believe they know who the owners are, but said he would name them until he was sure. The three bodies were found near an oil storage tank that was located in a field near Waterfall Road and exploded Friday afternoon. Treviño said an investigator located a lighter in the field near the explosion, but they weren’t sure if that was what ignited the tank’s combustible contents. The tank was almost three-fourths full of an unknown petroleum-based substance, based on the line marking the portion of the tank that landed in the field, Treviño said. There were also footprints on the top as if someone was standing on it, he said. Treviño said one person may have stood on the tank and lit a match or sparked a lighter, which could have caused the explosion and launched that person away from the blast site. The other two people were most likely standing near the base of the tank when it exploded, he said, which could be why their bodies were found near the base of the explosion.

Submitted on 05/21/2007

Submitted by: Robert Munoz
Reference: Valley Morning Star, Saturday May 19 2007 and Sunday May 20 2007

>> Moderator Scores <<

Shadow said:
Definitely Toss: Bystanders Hurt
At 13-16 years old they may be under the radar. But also the guy who lit the match alone in my opinion is the idoit the other to might not be "innocent" bystanders. But they were bystanders.

Graham said:
Definitely Toss: Bystanders Hurt

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2007 Slush Pile

Fuel tank, lit match, KABOOM!

2007 Reader Submission Pending Acceptance

2007 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance