A vehicle pursuit Tuesday resulted in a ruptured gas main, causing McComb officials to evacuate residences in a one block perimeter for close to two hours.
McComb police Detective Shannon Sullivan said a vehicle attempting to elude a Mississippi Department of Transportation law enforcement vehicle veered off the road near Old Highway 24 and White Boulevard around 3:30 p.m. and struck and ruptured a high-pressure gas main.
McComb Fire Chief Stephen Adams, who went to the scene, said the leak “sounded like a jet engine.”
“You could hear it a block away from any direction,” he said.
Adams and police evacuated nearby residents in an apartment complex, a trailer park and several homes.
“We asked them if they had somewhere they could go, to go there,” Adams said. “Many residents were at work and not home at the time, so that was fortunate,” he said.
Others made their own decision to evacuate after hearing the leak.
Adams said firefighters responded to a call from witnesses who heard the rupture.
CenterPoint Energy workers dug into the ground and pinched the line. They brought in a truck with equipment from Byram to assist with the work and completed the task about 5:30, Adams said. Employees continued to work on the gas main, located near the Camellia City Apartments at Old Highway 24 and White Boulevard this morning.
MDOT Southern Regional Commander Michael Forman said the incident began when one of his officers was almost “T-boned” by a maroon four-door Nissan Altima near the intersection of Locust Street and Presley Boulevard, just east of where the gas line ruptured.
The officer hit the lights and began pursuit of the vehicle, which turned south onto Old Highway 24.
The department decided to call off the chase due to the rainy weather conditions and high traffic volume.
Not long after, the vehicle hit the gas main, he said.
Forman said he and other officers were reviewing dashcam footage of the chase this morning.
Forman said lawmen are looking for the Nissan’s driver, a white or Hispanic male. The vehicle is missing its bottom right door molding from Tuesday’s wreck, he said.
He encourages anyone with information on the identity of the driver to call the MDOT McComb office at 684-2111.
