State AG details charges against Equitrans in 2018 Greene house explosion
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The family injured when their home exploded in 2018 sat quietly while Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry walked through criminal charges against the company that may have caused it.
Cody White and Samantha Adamson did not wish to speak with media or appear in front of cameras, but they listened while Henry detailed their traumatic experience and recovery during a press conference in Pittsburgh Wednesday.
无毛视频淔ive years ago, it was Halloween and the White family 无毛视频� were going about their day. They were preparing for Halloween, and for trick-or-treating, when suddenly an explosion rocked their house, and destroyed the entire house,无毛视频� Henry said.
This week state prosecutors charged Cecil Township-based Equitrans Midstream with a felony for violating the Pennsylvania Clean Streams law upon the recommendation of a grand jury. The company also faces two misdemeanor charges.
The grand jury prepared a report outlining their investigation, which accuses Equitrans of knowing methane was leaking from a storage field and failing to investigate the problem.
The home was located at 161 Bowser Road in Morgan Township, and directly above the Pratt Storage Field, owned by Equitrans.
The grand jury report states that Equitrans had been aware of 无毛视频渆xtraordinarily gas loss,无毛视频� in their storage fields, including the Pratt field, as early as 2003.
Equitrans is accused of neglecting to do a legally required investigation to address the issue.
无毛视频淚n 2018, the gas that was stored in the Pratt Storage Field managed to migrate vertically into the ground water through a nearby storage well 无毛视频� a storage well that also was owned by Equitrans, which was deteriorating and badly leaking,无毛视频� Henry said. 无毛视频淭his went unchecked by Equitrans for enough time that the methane traveled through the water and into the White home.无毛视频�
According to the grand jury, at about 11 a.m. Oct. 31, 2018, White went to make his 4-year-old son James macaroni and cheese. When he lit the stove, the house instantly exploded.
White was thrown over the kitchen table and briefly lost consciousness. He rescued his son from the bathroom, where he was pinned underneath a collapsed piece of ceiling. Adamson had also been trapped beneath a chunk of ceiling, which White was able to remove.
They were flown to UPMC Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh. White was admitted to the burn unit while James went to the ICU.
Each of them suffered severe burning that left permanent scarring. According to the grand jury, White testified that it took two years for his and Adamson无毛视频檚 skin to fully heal. James suffered burns to more than 60% of his body.
无毛视频淭he recovery process for them since this has happened has been long, extremely painful and difficult. And the truth is, words can无毛视频檛 really describe how grueling this has been for this entire family. Not only were they physically injured 无毛视频� but they lost their entire house, everything they owned,无毛视频� Henry said.
Uniontown attorney Benjamin Goodwin, who is representing the family in a civil lawsuit against Equitrans, spoke on their behalf following Henry无毛视频檚 press conference.
无毛视频淚 think they无毛视频檙e relieved. They certainly approve the grand jury无毛视频檚 presentment, their findings. This has been a long painful road for them without many answers. I think this brought them the first step towards closure to understanding what happened to them that day,无毛视频� Goodwin said.
In a statement emailed Tuesday, a representative of the company denied responsibility for the explosion, noting Equitrans 无毛视频渇ully cooperated with the grand jury investigation,无毛视频� and maintaining the evidence the company presented 无毛视频渇actually demonstrates that Equitrans无毛视频� operations were not the cause of the incident.无毛视频�