The Latest: Jury picked for trial over pipeline blast

SAN FRANCISCO – The Latest on the criminal trial of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. in the wake of a deadly pipeline explosion in the San Francisco Bay Area:

2:10 p.m.

A jury has been selected in a criminal trial accusing Pacific Gas & Electric Co. of obstructing investigators in the wake of a deadly pipeline explosion in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The 2010 blast along a PG&E natural gas pipeline killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes in a neighbourhood in San Bruno.

During the investigation, prosecutors say, the San Francisco-based utility misled federal officials about the standard it was using to identify high-risk pipelines.

PG&E has pleaded not guilty to obstruction and other charges.

Opening statements had been expected to start Thursday, but jury selection took up much of the day.

U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson rescheduled the statements for Friday.

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12:15 a.m.

One of the country’s largest utility companies is set to face a jury in a criminal trial accusing it of obstructing investigators in the wake of a deadly pipeline explosion in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The September 2010 blast of a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. natural gas pipeline sent a giant plume of fire into the air in a neighbourhood in San Bruno, killing eight people and destroying 38 homes. During the investigation that followed, prosecutors say the San Francisco-based utility misled federal officials about the standard it was using to identify high risk pipelines. Opening statements in the trial are scheduled to start Thursday.

PG&E has pleaded not guilty to obstruction and other charges in the case.