In the early evening of Feb. 22, 2020, DeBrae Burns was driving with his brother and cousin along Highway 3 outside the town of Satartia, Miss., when they saw a nearby explosion.
“We were coming back from a fishing trip, and we actually saw the mushroom cloud. Just like an explosion, but without the fire. It was just a big cloud of white in the air,” he said.
He suspected it came from a nearby pipeline that runs through the hills above Satartia. What he didn’t know was that instead of oil or natural gas, compressed and liquefied carbon dioxide was running through the pipes.
The surrounding area was immediately flooded with the suffocating gas, which can be deadly in concentrated amounts because it displaces oxygen. Burns called his mother on the phone about the explosion. Seconds later, the car’s engine was snuffed out; Burns, his brother and cousin all …