State says gas company did not follow procedure\nEVANSVILLE -- State investigators said Vectren violated state and federal regulations before a house explosion that killed two women.\nThe Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission has the authority to fine the natural gas provider but has not yet decided whether to do so, spokeswoman Mary Beth Fisher told the Evansville Courier & Press for a Saturday story.\nUndetected natural gas led to an April 3 explosion that killed the homeowner, Daisy Pauline Hardy, 89, and a friend who was visiting at the time, Josie Williams. The explosion also severely injured Vectren employee Mark Rexing.\nFire investigators said the gas leak occurred after city water department employees mistook the gas line to Hardy's house for a water line and turned a valve, causing a plastic pipe to fracture.\nThe report by the IURC's pipeline safety division included documents listing other times city water department employees had inadvertently turned gas valves and caused leaks and cited Vectren for failing to analyze such accidents to reduce the chances of them happening again.\nRegulators also said Vectren's internal procedures were not followed on the day of the blast and that Vectren had not verified that personnel knew emergency procedures.\nIn a statement released after the report, Vectren called the blast a "tragedy" and said it has reviewed safety procedures since the accident.\n"We are confident that our procedures are in line with industry standards and regulatory requirements," the statement said.\nVectren said changes have been made since the accident, including investigating past projects undertaken by the same contractor, reviewing procedures and setting up ways to evaluate the effectiveness of "refresher courses" required of workers.\nThe plastic pipe carrying the gas was inside an older metal pipe that stopped about three feet from the basement wall, and investigators believed the gas leaked into the metal pipe and then migrated through the ground to the basement.\nThe soil filtered out the odorant that is added to natural gas to alert people to leaks, so Rexing did not smell the gas when he lit a match to light the pilot in the water heater after repairing the broken line.
Parents sue police after fatal chase\nSOUTH BEND -- The parents of an 18-year-old who died in a car crash as he tried to chase down an alleged hit-and-run driver in April are suing the driver and police, saying authorities told their son to pursue the driver by running stop signs and speeding.\nMatthew Anderson died April 1 when his car crashed as he was chasing Kyle Jakubowicz, 26, of South Bend.\nAnderson had called St. Joseph County Police and told them that someone hit his car and then drove away, and that he was following the driver.\nThe suit alleges that patrolman Daniel Bodle, who was handling dispatch that night for police, told Anderson to pursue Jakubowicz "by running stop signs and by traveling at high rates of speed," the South Bend Tribune reported.\nThe lawsuit, filed by George and Kris Anderson of Granger, Ind., seeks unspecified damages. It states that Jakubowicz caused the collision that started the chase, and that Anderson died because of the "carelessness and negligence" of the county and Jakubowicz.\n"I think the family wants to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again," said Dan Pfeifer, attorney for the Andersons.\nPeter Agostino, an attorney representing the Sheriff's Office, said Friday he hadn't seen the lawsuit.\n"Obviously we differ on whether or not there's liability under the facts of the case, and we believe there is not," Agostino said. "We will defend the case accordingly, in court."\nJakubowicz declined to comment on the lawsuit to the South Bend Tribune, saying his mother has been handling his legal affairs while he works out of town. His mother could not be reached by the newspaper for comment Friday.\nJakubowicz turned himself in to state police on April 27 after he was charged with failing to report an accident and reckless driving. Last week, he pleaded guilty to the charges.
Congressional candidate walks out on debate\nFORT WAYNE -- A northeastern Indiana congressional candidate abruptly ended a debate because she got stage fright.\nDemocrat Maria Parra walked off a television stage Thursday, ending what would have been her only debate with incumbent Republican Mark Souder in the 3rd District congressional race.\n"I'm not used to being in front of the camera... I couldn't get my words out. I was just overwhelmed," she said after the aborted debate, which was being filmed at WPTA and would have been aired this weekend. The matchup has not been rescheduled and is not likely to be, The Journal Gazette reported Friday.\nParra said she "absolutely" thought backing out of the debate would hurt her politically, but hoped people would understand.\nParra is a first-time candidate. Souder is completing his 10th year representing northeast Indiana in Congress and is running for a sixth two-year term.
