Man arrested and charged in connection with gas explosion on New Centre Drive

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The Wilmington Police Department has arrested a man in connection to a gas explosion that occurred near New Centre Drive.

46-year-old Jason Lee Beach of Wilmington has been charged with DWI-felony serious injury, possession of drug paraphernalia, hit and run/leave scene, reckless driving, and failure to maintain lane.

He is currently being held under a $100,000 secured bond at the NHSO Detention Center.

Authorities say that a car hit the Eastern Carolina Veterinary Referral building at 5051 New Centre Drive and ruptured a gas line at around 11:30 a.m. Minutes later, the building exploded.

According to arrest warrants obtained by WECT, Beach seriously injured one person’s head and hands, causing broken bones. Police reportedly found a can of Galaxy Gas. He was located up the street near the intersection of 31st and Market, according to a WPD spokesperson.

New Centre Drive has been reopened as of 6 p.m. Tuesday. Police and fire crews spent the afternoon cleaning up debris from the explosion before leaving the scene when the road reopened.

Wilmington Police said the driver was turning into Bob King when they went off the road and hit the gas line to the building. Officers tell us the driver left the scene but was quickly located and taken into custody.

Authorities believe that the driver was impaired.

WPD also stated that four firefighters were injured while battling the fire. One of those firefighters was taken to Chapel Hill with severe burns on their hands. The other three have since been released, WFD confirmed. One suffered an ankle injury after falling from a ladder while responding to the explosion, WFD said.

Wilmington Fire Chief Steve Mason told WECT that two explosions happened inside the building. The cause of the second explosion is under investigation.

“We heard the mayday call come in, and those are the worst words a fire chief can hear,” he said.

Firefighters saw an initial explosion and a bigger explosion, according to the firefighters who were inside. Firefighters were working to evacuate the building when the second explosion went off, Chief Mason said.

The Veterinary Clinic’s Administrator, Gary Walker, said he was shocked: “I was like, ‘this can’t be happening.’ We were just weeks away from our grand opening.”

According to the business’s website, it was expected to open the new location next month.

Witnesses said the explosion was a shock.

“It was like being in war or something,” said witness Ian Cross. “A building blew up and every part of it was coming down, like on fire and coming down.”

The New Hanover County 911 center is asking people to refrain from calling 911 for information or to report the incident, because it is tying up emergency phone lines.

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

This is an ongoing story, and details will be added as they become available.