x
Breaking News
More () »

Man jumps to his death, officials find his home full of natural gas

A White Settlement man jumped to his death from an overpass on West Loop 820 near I-30, and when authorities went to his home, the smell of natural gas was overwhelming.

A White Settlement man jumped to his death from an overpass on West Loop 820 near I-30, and when authorities went to his home, the smell of natural gas was overwhelming. It was a tense and tragic morning in Tarrant County.

When authorities went to his White Settlement home to let family members know, they were faced with another emergency. "As officers approached the house, they could smell a strong odor of natural gas coming from the residence," said Sr. Corporal/Det. Michelle LeNoir with White Settlement police.

They also found a wire connected to the door. Utility workers immediately shut off the gas, evacuated neighbors, and out of fear the home was booby-trapped, the Fort Worth Bomb Squad was called out. A robot helped break the windows to air out the home, and once it aired out, authorities entered.

"Inside the residence, the stove was left on," LeNoir said, adding there was a pizza box left on top of the stove that had burned out.

A source tells WFAA that gas lines of multiple appliances inside the home had been disconnected and filled the home with so much natural gas that it could have exploded had something ignited. The wire turned out to be nothing.

Police would not comment on whether they believed the man left the gas on on purpose.

"Oh that’s horrible, horrible. I knew something was wrong last night," said Greta Vargas, who lives across the street. "I just say thank God that they got here in time, that it didn’t blow," she said.

This case shed even more light on a topic that's been top of mind the past week: suicide. "It impacts people every day," said Tarrant County MHMR spokeswoman Catherine Carlton. "We don’t always talk about it, but we’re here to help."

At MHMR's ICare Crisis Center, they take 100,000 calls a year from Tarrant County residents needing help, including suicide calls. They want people to know resources are available for whatever crisis you or someone else may have.

"This team of folks is here to take your call, take your text, if you have a question, if you have a concern about yourself, or you have a concern about somebody else, we are here," Carlton said.

If you or someone you know needs help, call or text ICARE for help at 817-335-3022 or 800-866-2465. For TTY, 817-569-4488.

Before You Leave, Check This Out