Monday, June 9, 2008

Family of McKinney gas explosion victim speaks out

By Brett Ryder of McKinneyNews.net

Brett Ryder/McKinneyNews.net

A chain link fence guards the remains of Nancy Foster's home.

She’s been in Parkland Memorial Hospital for 24 days now. When she’s coherent enough to speak – occasions that come and go depending on the amount of painkillers coursing through her blood – she asks with feeble voice about her home. Her family doesn’t let her know it’s gone, blasted to a heap of indistinguishable rubble, the result of a gas line leak and subsequent explosion that badly burned her face, arms and back.

Warren Owens, grandson of Nancy Foster, says he doesn’t know if his grandmother will make it. A 78-year-old takes longer to heal from significant burns, he says, and issues with her heart may come into play. She’s already had one skin graft operation and is scheduled for another soon. If she does survive, Owens says her doctors have warned that her tender skin may be sensitive to sunlight for a considerable time.

A couple days after the May 16 series of explosions that decimated three homes – including Foster’s -- in the area of Fenet St. and Throckmorton Blvd., representatives from Atmos approached Owens at the site of the blast and offered the family assistance. Owens said company officials indicated they had already given the Hispanic occupants (said by one resident in the area to be undocumented) of one of the destroyed homes $200 for clothing and wanted to offer Owens the same.

Owens was stunned and insulted.

“I declined,” he said. “I’m thinking the home was destroyed, that my Grandma was literally fighting for her life. When we looked at her, we didn’t even recognize who she was. She was swollen and we just didn’t know who she was. What can you offer someone who's in a hospital bed and you're at fault?"

Rand LaVonn, public communications manager for Atmos Energy, said Atmos was merely interested in offering immediate assistance to those involved in the blasts.

“Representatives of Atmos Energy went to the scene and hospital in good faith trying to help people who had emergency needs,” LaVonn said. “We were only trying to do the right thing, and to help with immediate human needs.”

It was originally widely reported in the news media that M.J. Sheridan crewman working on behalf of Atmos as part of the city’s multimillion dollar Eastside infrastructure initiative, helped evacuate school-aged children from the non-profit Holy Family School across the street before the explosions occurred. Sheridan made a statement saying as much.

When learning of the statement, attorney for Holy Family School, Mari McGowen, fired off a letter to Sheridan demanding the company retract the statement. There had been no such heroic effort in the 69 minutes between the gas line strike and the multiple explosions.

“[Sheridan] retracted its statement immediately,” McGowen said with an air of slight vindication.

In a telephone interview, Owens said Foster’s neighbor, Samuel Bailey, saw Foster the day of the explosions outside talking with either M.J. Sheridan or Atmos Energy officials and returning indoors, apparently satisfied the gas leak was under control. Minutes later, the explosions occurred.

Bailey corroborated Owens’ account, but with a caveat.

“I just want the truth to be known.” Bailey said. “All I know for sure is that [Foster] was outside bent over sniffing around. She then went to the corner and talked with a couple guys either with hardhats on or maybe baseball caps – I can’t remember. I don’t know what they were talking about. After she talked to them, she went back inside.”

Arthur Bryson, a “long time family friend” of Foster’s was visiting Foster when the gas line was struck.

Bryson, who also remains hospitalized at Parkland Memorial Hospital, was speaking the day of the blast and has since, according to Owens, stopped speaking due to the severity of his injuries. From Bryson’s initial blast-day account, Owens has only been able to piece together the very basics of the story: Bryson was visiting Foster, the blast occurred, and he led Foster out of the house.

When Foster is coherent enough to speak, her words are difficult to make out, Owens said. She has no recollection of what happened. When she asks about the house, family members remain mum, not wanting to upset her further by telling her the house is gone, completely destroyed.

“She can speak and you can make out some of the words, but you can’t understand her fully because of the medications she’s taking and the tubes that were down her throat,” Owens said. “She’s a strong woman. She’s the only woman in my life that has always shown me love. It eats at you. I would never want anybody to go through this. What was [Atmos Energy] doing? Sixty-nine minutes passed between the time the gas line was hit and the explosions occurred."

Meanwhile, as Foster convalesces, the hospital bills mount. Owens says he has no idea to what extent, but he’s sure they’re significant.

Parkland officials said they were unable to speculate on the cost of Foster's ongoing treatment. One official did say it would not be unreasonable to expect that specialized burn treatment – including intensive and acute care – would cost more than a $1,000 per day.

Rand LaVonn, Atmos spokesperson, said Atmos' contact with the Foster family has been discontinued due to a lawsuit filed last Tuesday on behalf of Foster.

“Atmos wishes Mrs. Foster a full and speedy recovery,” LaVonn said. “Our attorneys will examine the allegations in the lawsuit and respond. As we are still investigating the underlying incident, it would serve no purpose to go into great detail at this time [regarding questions of negligence]."

M.J. Sheridan attorney, Jim Watson, took the same tack when questioned about Sheridan culpability for the explosions. “Because of the pending litigation, I simply can’t make comment at this time,” he said.

Frank Branson, attorney for the Foster family, didn't reserve opinion.

Both Atmos Energy and M.J. Sheridan have been “grossly negligent,” Branson said. “As a consumer of gas, if you’ve got a gas line struck in or near you’re family…I assume you’re paying for the right to use natural gas without them blowing you up.”

As both plaintiff (Foster) and defendants (Atmos Energy and M.J. Sheridan) prepare their respective cases, Owens says his thoughts are at once fixated on his grandmother and an impossibility.

“I just want things to be returned to the way they were before her house was destroyed,” Owens said. “We thought she’d die of old age, she’s been in that house over 55 years. We didn’t think she’d be blown up.”

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• Legal / Lawsuits > Civil