With the fire substantially smaller since it began on Monday, police were able to access the area around the pipeline in Deer Park. Investigators removed the white SUV and towed it away Thursday morning.
While medical examiners with Harris County were processing the vehicle, they recovered and removed human remains found inside, Deer Park officials said in a statement.
“They will now begin working through their identification process, which will take some time,” officials said.
Officials say the underground pipeline, which runs under high-voltage power lines in a grassy corridor between a Walmart and a residential neighborhood in Deer Park, was damaged when the SUV driver left the store’s parking lot, entered the wide grassy area and went through a fence surrounding the valve equipment.
But authorities have offered few details on what caused the vehicle to crash through the fence and hit the pipeline valve.
Energy Transfer, the Dallas-based company that owns the pipeline, on Wednesday called it an accident. Deer Park officials said preliminary investigations by police and FBI agents found no evidence of a terrorist attack.
