Opening statements set to begin in pipeline blast trial

June 17, 2016 at 3:44 a.m. | Updated June 17, 2016 at 3:50 a.m.

by Associated Press

FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2010, file photo, a massive fire following a pipeline explosion roars through a mostly residential neighborhood in San Bruno, Calif. One of the country's largest utility companies is set to face a jury in a criminal trial accusing it of misleading 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 neighborhood in San Bruno, killing eight people and destroying 38 homes. Opening arguments in the trial began Thursday, June 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2010, file photo, a massive fire following a pipeline explosion roars through a mostly residential neighborhood in San Bruno, Calif. One of the country's largest utility companies is set to face a jury in a criminal trial accusing it of misleading 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 neighborhood in San Bruno, killing eight people and destroying 38 homes. Opening arguments in the trial began Thursday, June 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Attorneys for the government and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will begin presenting their cases in a criminal trial alleging the utility giant obstructed investigators after a deadly pipeline explosion in the San Francisco Bay Area.

After several days of jury selection, opening statements are scheduled to start Friday in federal court in San Francisco.

A PG&E natural gas pipeline exploded in the city of San Bruno six years ago in a disaster that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes.

During the investigation that followed, prosecutors say the San Francisco-based utility misled federal officials about how it was identifying high-risk pipelines.

PG&E has pleaded not guilty and said its employees did not intentionally violate pipeline safety laws or obstruct an investigation. The company faces a $562 million fine if convicted.

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