Officials have identified the driver who crashed into the Texas pipeline, causing a fire

The driver of a vehicle that crashed into a pipeline valve and started a four-day fire that forced the evacuation of nearby neighborhoods in a Houston suburb 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, according to a statement Monday evening from Lt. Deer Park Police Chris Brown.

The cause of McEvoy’s death and why the vehicle he was driving went through a fence near a Walmart parking lot and hit the above-ground valve remained under investigation, Brown said Tuesday.

“We’re still gathering information … but I don’t know that we’ll ever have an exact 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 ex-wife, Delma McEvoy, and his son, Jonathan McEvoy Jr., told KPRC-TV that McEvoy recently suffered seizures and believe they led to the accident.

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

Brown said no missing person’s report has been filed for Jonathan McEvoy Sr., but declined to discuss whether family has been questioned about the man.

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

McEvoy’s remains were not recovered until after the fire was out because the SUV remained near the valve.

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