Verona, MS – Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson and Lee County Fire Marshall Ed Fugitt said at a media conference Wednesday a gas leak caused the explosion Tuesday that severely burned two women and three children at a Palmetto home. No criminal charges will be filed.
Local and state investigators spent most of the morning digging through the charred remains of the home looking for the what caused the blast and fire that rocked the rural community in the southwestern part of Lee county.
The five victims Sophia Hunt, 26; Carlitha Grice, 26; Sinias Grice, 2; Lanazia Hunt 2; and Natetreuna Hunt, 3 are still at the Joseph M. Still Burn Centers Inc. in Augusta, Ga.
Johnson said all five are in critical condition as noon, according to the hospital.