The Deer Park Police Department has officially closed its criminal investigation into the September pipeline fire caused by 51-year-old Jonathan McEvoy.
Deer Park investigators determined that McEvoy intentionally drove his Lexus SUV through a fence at a nearby Walmart and into a valve that sparked the fire on Spencer Highway near East Boulevard on September 16, 2024. The fire burned for nearly 80 hours.
Hundreds of residents in the Brookglen neighborhood were forced out of their homes with a lot of homeowners also having major property damage.
The Harris County Medical Examiner's Office ruled that McEvoy died by suicide from blunt traumatic and thermal injuries. DPD also added that McEvoy acted alone.