The top officials from Deer Park and La Porte have confirmed to Houston Landing that the SUV crash, which resulted in the massive pipeline explosion and fire near the border of both cities on September 16, was not an accident and was not caused by the driver experiencing a medical event.
The mayor of Deer Park and the emergency response coordinator of La Porte made statements contradicting the belief of the family members that the driver suffered a seizure before the crash. However, they failed to provide any supporting details or evidence to support their claims.
According to Deer Park Mayor Jerry Mouton, Jr., the incident was considered a criminal investigation due to the deliberate nature of the act. “You don’t just accidentally end up where that car ended up at. It wasn’t an accident,” Mayor Mouton stated confidently.
In a separate interview with The Landing, Johnny Morales, La Porte’s emergency management coordinator, stated that the cause of the crash was not related to any medical issues. Morales and Mouton did not disclose any additional information regarding the incident.
Mouton suggested following up with the police department to obtain the investigation report. According to him, the case has already been cleared and closed.
According to a spokesperson from the Deer Park Police Department, the investigation is currently underway and no report has been made public yet.
Deer Park Police Lieutenant Chris Brown emphasized the importance of relying on factual information when discussing the incident. He mentioned that the department is currently awaiting the completion of the investigation by the medical examiner’s office. As of now, no conclusive determinations have been made regarding the matter.
The family of Jonathan McEvoy, Sr., the 51-year-old man who tragically lost his life in the devastating fire, was taken aback by the surprising statements made by the mayor of Deer Park and the emergency official of La Porte. It was a horrific incident where the white Lexus SUV, driven by Jonathan, crashed through a chain-link fence and collided with the above-ground pipeline after leaving the nearby Walmart Supercenter parking lot.
“We were under the impression that he suffered from a seizure,” revealed Jonathan McEvoy Jr., the eldest son of the deceased, during a brief phone call while he was on a night shift at a refinery on Tuesday. He expressed his surprise that nobody from Deer Park had informed him about the completion of the investigation into his father’s death.
After this article was published, Kaitlyn Bluejacket, spokesperson for Deer Park mayor Mouton, sent an email statement to provide a different perspective on the events. This statement contradicts what Mouton had shared in an interview with the Houston Landing on Tuesday, which was recorded.
Bluejacket explained that the Mayor’s intention was to convey that the driver of the car did not lose control of the wheel, as the vehicle originated from the Walmart parking lot. It was believed that the incident was either caused by a medical emergency or an intentional criminal act. Therefore, the case was being treated as a criminal investigation in order to eliminate the possibility of criminal negligence.
Delma McEvoy, who was married to Jonathan McEvoy, Sr. for nearly 28 years before they amicably divorced almost two years ago, firmly believes that there is no way he would have purposely crashed the car.
Delma McEvoy expressed her disbelief, stating that she does not believe the accusation. She firmly believes that the individual in question is not capable of such actions.
According to her, her ex-husband had been experiencing sporadic and rare seizures recently. During these episodes, his body would become rigid, and he would regain consciousness without any recollection of what had transpired.
Jonathan McEvoy Sr. was in the midst of pursuing treatment for his seizures when he crashed the SUV into the pipeline, according to Delma McEvoy. She mentioned that the evaluation of his condition had been postponed due to bureaucratic complications related to workers compensation medical coverage. These issues arose after he had a seizure while working at his previous job for a package delivery company.
According to Delma McEvoy, the police were informed by family members regarding the seizures, the workers comp case, and the co-worker who witnessed the fall.
According to Brown, the spokesperson for the Deer Park police, there is a possibility that a seizure could have been the cause of the crash. However, it is important to note that the investigation is still ongoing and no definitive conclusions have been made yet.
Family members have been under the impression that investigators have held the belief for quite some time that the collision was intentional.
According to Delma McEvoy, she believes that investigators are struggling to understand how it would be possible for her ex-husband’s SUV to leave the paved Walmart parking lot, cross an open grassy field, and ultimately crash into one of the few above-ground pipeline structures in the vicinity, if he were unconscious due to a seizure.
According to her, investigators have been questioning the likelihood of someone having a seizure and then, by chance, speeding up and hitting exactly that spot.
Delma McEvoy stated that investigators had questioned family members and close friends regarding any potential note left by Jonathan McEvoy Sr., any conflicts he may have been involved in, or any suspicions of him being paid to target the pipeline.
According to her, there were no notes, arguments, or any indication of anything unusual in the days leading up to the Monday morning crash on September 16th.
Delma McEvoy shared that on the Saturday before the accident, her ex-husband reached out to her, as he usually does, to check in on their youngest son, who had just started his first semester away at college. They also discussed other topics, such as his recent work trip to Utah.
“He was his usual self, and we had a great time laughing and talking,” she recalled. The following Sunday, he accompanied our eldest son on errands.”
According to what Delma McEvoy has been told by her ex-husband’s roommate, Monday morning before the 10 a.m. crash was just as ordinary and uneventful.
According to Delma McEvoy, her roommate had a simple plan for the morning – to head to Walmart and buy some shoes. Living just five minutes away from the store in Deer Park, he invited his roommate to accompany him, but she declined, showing no interest in shopping.
Jonathan McEvoy Sr. drove his roommate’s white SUV to Walmart and sent her a text to inform her of his arrival. According to Delma McEvoy, he didn’t usually use her car.
Multiple witnesses in the parking lot that morning would later tell reporters that they had observed a potential elderly driver, possibly a woman, hunched over in the slow-moving SUV.
To their surprise, the vehicle unexpectedly veered off Walmart’s paved parking lot and accelerated as it crossed the grassy utility right of way. Eventually, it crashed through the chain-link fence that enclosed the natural gas liquids pipeline operated by Energy Transfer Company.
The completion date of the investigation by the Deer Park Police Department remains uncertain. According to a spokesperson from the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, the medical examiner’s investigation is still pending, and there is no estimated timeline for its conclusion.