Identity Of Gas Accident Victim Still Unknown

FARMINGTON -- Farmington police may not be able to identify the person who died Dec. 16, 2016, in a car accident involving a natural gas fire.

Sgt. Mike Wilbanks with Farmington Police Department last week released a statement that the Arkansas Crime Lab was not able to identify the remains of the driver of the vehicle.

Farmington police have concluded their investigation of the accident and results show the vehicle veered off Main Street, just west of Kelli Street in Farmington, and hit a gas main. The vehicle was engulfed in flames for about eight hours.

Damage from the fire was so intense that police were not able to identify the make or model of the vehicle, only that it was a four-door, unibody design, Wilbanks said.

Skeletal remains of one occupant were recovered and sent to the Crime Lab. Crime Lab officials notified Wilbanks last week that they were not able to get an identifiable DNA from the remains.

"The occupant of the car could remain unidentified indefinitely," Wilbanks said.

However, he said the police department is currently working a missing person's report for David A. Carver, 32, of Jimmy DeVault Road in Farmington.

Wilbanks said family members of Carver, including a brother, came to the police department on Monday following the fatal accident and expressed concerns that the accident victim could be Carver. His family said Carver apparently had recently purchased a 1998 Buick LeSabre, which matches the style vehicle involved in the accident.

Wilbanks said police could not confirm to the family that Carver was the person who died in the vehicle accident.

The fatal accident occurred about 4 p.m. Dec. 16, a Friday afternoon. The vehicle, traveling west on Main Street, struck a natural gas valve setting located above ground near the highway. The setting was connected to a four-inch high-pressure gas main.

An explosion occurred almost immediately, igniting the vehicle and a duplex located behind the gas valve setting. Black Hills Energy worked to turn off the natural gas throughout the evening and finally was able to turn off the gas about 12:30 a.m. Dec. 17.

Carver's information has been entered into the national data base for missing persons and police will continue to follow all leads in looking for Carver, Wilbanks said.