NTSB: Driver Partly at Fault in Blast

BILOXI, Miss. (AP) - Operator error appears to be part of the cause of a fatal 1998 gasoline explosion that killed five people, a 600-page preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report says.

The report says that the driver of the tanker was not closely monitoring the flow of gasoline from the tanker into the underground tank at the Texaco Fast Lane on U.S. 90 on Aug. 9, 1998.

About 550 gallons overflowed from the 12,032-gallon underground tank onto the highway and were ignited by a spark from a passing car. The resulting fire killed five people and seriously injured another.

"According to the driver, he was at the trash can when a customer notified him that gasoline was flowing out of the fill hole," the report said.

NTSB officials in Washington said a final report on the accident is scheduled to be released in the fall. The NTSB is not a regulatory agency, and its findings are not binding.

"We make recommendations to prevent accidents in the future," NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway said Thursday. "We don't place blame, we determine the cause, provide analysis, and make recommendations."

As the burning gasoline moved along U.S. 90, two cars and a pickup truck were engulfed in flames at the intersection adjacent to the service station.

Killed were Te'Anna Nix, 20, her mother, Linda Nix, 43, both of Gulfport; Margaret Wilson, 56, and her husband, William Wilson, 58, both of Wisner, La.; and William Brown, 18, of Gulfport.

James Forbes, 27, of Gulfport, is still recovering from third-degree burns.

Since the accident, five civil lawsuits have been filed in Circuit Court against Premium Tank Lines, the tanker owner; R.R. Morrison & Sons, owners of Texaco Fast Lane; and others, including the driver, Bruce Jordan, who no longer works for Premium Tank Lines.

The cases are scheduled for trial in February.