3 hurt in Waxahachie house explosion
WAXAHACHIE, Texas - Families who live near a house that exploded in Waxahachie are waiting to return home and learn if a gas leak was to blame.
Crews evacuated 25 homes in the Saddlebrook Estates neighborhood after the Monday morning explosion that injured three people.
Cellphone video shows neighbors rushing in to a home that was completely destroyed to help Adel Chavez and her brother, who she cares for.
"There was a young man who maybe had Down syndrome who was already on the curb sitting down, bleeding from his foot, badly burned. I just knelt down. I prayed for him and talked to him. He was worried about his sister. She was badly burned. They had us move him. So me and two other ladies and the state troopers helped move the guy," said Carrie Thompson.
Both suffered burns and are now being treated at Parkland Hospital in Dallas. Chavez’ daughter, Cynthia Serna, said they are doing okay.
“It’s a miracle that they’re here right now,” she said. “She’s in a lot of pain, but she knows it’s the grace of God that brought her here. She has a lot of faith.”
A third person who was injured was treated at the scene.
It is not yet clear what caused the explosion, but officials and neighbors suspect natural gas was to blame. Atmos Energy crews are investigating.
"We work closely with our first responders to make the area safe and then conduct leak surveys in the area to identify if gas was involved. At this point it is too soon to tell what caused this incident," said Jennifer Altieri, a spokeswoman for Atmos.
One neighbor said he reported a gas outage over the weekend. He was told that he needed to wait for someone to come out on Monday.
The American Red Cross is helping those who were affected.