A homeowner discovered the body of a Jefferson Parish man in the rubble of a bizarre overnight accident and fire.
There's not much left of a shed that sat behind a home in the 300 block of Deckbar Avenue. The shed caught fire Wednesday night around 10:30. Investigators believe it started as a result of some erratic driving by a next-door neighbor.
Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand says a man, identified by family as James Williams, pulled into his driveway and then began running into his neighbor's fence, hitting the shed. Williams was going back and forth, hitting the shed and then reversing to hit a Jacuzzi owned by his other neighbor. Then, Williams pick-up truck exploded.
"We believe the accelerant was probably the gasoline from the gas tank having exploded," Normand explained.
The shed was scorched, and the inside of the neighbor's home and Williams' own home next door were heavily damaged.
Firefighters arrived at the scene Wednesday night and put out the two-alarm fire. But Thursday morning, the owner of the property with the shed, who didn't want to be identified, got the surprise of a lifetime, telling FOX 8, "I was appalled."
That's because the woman's husband discovered a body in the debris -- the body of James Williams.
Jefferson Parish Fire Director Joe Greco explains why firefighters never found the body Wednesday night, saying, "The amount of debris is how they missed it."
The coroner's office is now conducting an autopsy on James Williams, as the investigation into this bizarre accident continues.
Crews search through fire rubble in Jefferson Parish
