Elm Street gas leak started with rear-end collision

LACONIA — The chain of events that led to a ruptured gas line which forced the shutdown of Elm Street for four hours Thursday afternoon and led to the evacuation of several homes and businesses was triggered by a rear-end accident.

Police Chief Matt Canfield said Friday the driver of an SUV was traveling south on Elm Street toward Lakeport Square about 1:15 p.m. when it collided with the rear of another vehicle just beyond where Elm Street intersects with Fairmont Street. He said the driver of the SUV then drove around the other vehicle and soon after lost control went off the street, jumped the curb, and collided with a duplex apartment house at the corner of Elm and Franklin streets.

Canfield said police are continuing to investigate the accident and that there are no charges against the driver at this time. He said one of the questions police have is why the SUV’s driver went around the other vehicle after the collision instead of stopping. He said that police would also be looking into whether speed may have played a role.

The driver of the SUV suffered “very minor injuries,” Canfield said.

When the vehicle struck the building, it smashed into the gas meter. The force of the collision severed the gas line right at ground level so that firefighters were unable to make any sort of emergency repair to stop the leak, Fire Chief Kirk Beattie said.

Liberty Utilities was called immediately. Meanwhile the occupants of 20 buildings in the immediate area – both residences and businesses – were ordered to evacuate until the leak was repaired. Beattie said there were people inside the building at 4 Franklin St. which is about 10 feet from the street.

Firefighters sprayed water in the area near the building to dissipate the gas vapors and reduce the chance of a fire.

Utility crews arrived on scene around 2 p.m., Beattie said. It took them 90 minutes before they were able to stop the leak, he said.

Firefighters remained on the scene until 5 p.m. Elm Street was reopened to through traffic shortly afterward. Occupants of all the buildings, except the one struck by the vehicle, were able to return.

The collision caused structural damage to the building, Beattie said. Canfield said the building’s foundation was cracked in two places.

Both chiefs said it was fortunate that there were no serious injuries.

“It had the makings of being something worse,” Canfield said.