Dashcam video shows police narrowly avoiding injury in house blast
Police said three people in the house were injured as well as two officers.
Police in Texas have released shocking dashcam video today of a dramatic explosion of an SUV crashing into a house and then apparently striking a natural-gas line.
The video posted on Facebook by the Hurst Police Department shows patrol cars pulling up on April 7 to the house after the crash.
Police said in an April 9 news release they'd received a call from the homeowner that one of the residents of the house was trapped in a bedroom.
"Several officers from the Hurst Police Department arrived on scene at the same time, and as they were walking up to the residence to assist, the house suddenly exploded in a massive fireball, which lifted the roof from the structure and blew out most of the back wall," Hurst police said.
In the dashcam video, an officer can be seen exiting a patrol vehicle. Moments later, the house explodes into flames. The sound of glass can also be heard. The officer can be seen ducking for safety as debris fills the air.
"It (the blast) shook the house. It shook all of the neighbors' houses," one neighbor told ABC affiliate WFAA-TV recently.
Police said a husband and wife were inside the house at the time of the blast with their adult son. According to police, officers found the wife "severely injured and buried in rubble." All three individuals were taken to the hospital.
"The mother and father were reported to have serious burn injuries. ... The son was treated and released for less serious injuries," police said.
Police said the family's names were not being released for "privacy concerns."
The department said two police officers also received minor injuries from the incident.
"The victims are stable and expected to recover. Our hearts go out to them and their family," police said today in a statement.
Police said a preliminary investigation had revealed the blast was likely caused by "the accumulation and ignition of natural gas inside the house, which was caused when the vehicle crashed into the house and severed the primary gas line and meter that supplied the residence."
Authorities identified the driver of the SUV as 35-year-old Alejandro Enriquez-Castro.
Hurst police said he was not injured in the crash and claimed his car's brakes had failed. They said Castro was arrested at the scene on a misdemeanor charge of no driver's license and jailed. Bond was set at $180.
"Castro was found to have several unconfirmed alias names and was placed on an immigration detainer and transferred to ICE this morning," the department said. "Hurst police investigators are still in the process of determining the causative factors that contributed to the initial vehicle crash into the house."