Driver in foundry blast dies

Charles "Chuck" McDonald, driver of the propane tanker truck that exploded at a Tacoma foundry more than a week ago, died Sunday morning, a nursing supervisor at Harborview Medical Center said.

Since the Oct. 6 blast, McDonald, 64, who was a driver for IXL Transportation Services, had been in critical condition at Harborview with burns over 75 percent of his body. He died around 9:40 a.m. from complications related to the burns, said Tacoma-based lawyer John Christensen. Christensen was hired by McDonald's family on Wednesday to investigate the possibility of a lawsuit related to the explosion.

McDonald was delivering 8,000 gallons of propane to the Atlas Castings & Technology foundry, transferring the propane from his truck to storage tanks when the truck exploded, unleashing a tower of fire into the sky and spewing truck pieces around the foundry. Three others had minor injuries and were treated and released at Tacoma-area hospitals.

In a statement released by Christensen, McDonald's family said: "The family is obviously devastated by the loss of their father, husband and friend, but they are all grateful of the love and support that has been shown over the past week by friends and family."

Fire officials have said the hose or connection between McDonald's truck and the larger, stationary tanks suffered a "catastrophic failure" and the escaping gas was apparently ignited by a furnace inside the nearby foundry.

Christensen is looking at circumstances around the leak.

"The real question is how did that leak occur and who was responsible for maintaining the integrity of the system," he said.

He's investigating whether maintenance had been done on the hose before McDonald arrived that morning. A security video also apparently shows people helping McDonald mount the hose to his truck, Christensen said.

Christensen said the foundry is giving him access to the site this week and that he is also bringing in a propane expert to look at the scene.

But he said the family won't decide whether to pursue a lawsuit and against whom until after investigators release reports. Arrangements are being made for services in Toutle, Cowlitz County.

Nicole Tsong: 206-464-2150 or ntsong@seattletimes.com. Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.