Overview

• Police say a vehicle left the road and struck gas lines feeding the Eastern Carolina Veterinary Medical Center, with the building exploding roughly 20 minutes later.
• Three Wilmington firefighters were hospitalized during a primary search; two suffered non‑life‑threatening injuries and one sustained severe burns to the hands and arms.
• Jason Lee Beach, 46, was arrested and charged with felony DWI with serious injury, hit‑and‑run, possession of drug paraphernalia, reckless driving and failure to maintain lane, and is held on a $100,000 bond.
• Crews secured the gas and brought the fire under control, nearby businesses were evacuated, and sections of New Centre Drive remain closed as a multiagency investigation examines the blast’s sequence.
• The clinic was under construction with no staff, patients or pets inside, and the planned September opening has been upended by extensive damage.