The NY State Police has confirmed to YWN that the vehicle which exploded into a fireball on the NYS Thruway on Monday night was in fact carrying fireworks.
As YWN had reported just moments after it happened, a Lincoln Navigator was traveling southbound on Interstate 87 in the Town of Tuxedo, when it suddenly erupted into flames – trapping the occupants.
Kiryas Joel Hatzolah along with the Woodbury Fire Department were on the scene on the Thruway between Exits 15 and 16 at around 9:30PM.
According to the State Police Investigators, the occupants of the vehicle smelled smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle, and moments later fireworks that were being transported began to ignite. The vehicle quickly became fully engulfed in flames, causing three occupants of the vehicle to sustaine relatively minor burns, and two other occupants to sustaine more severe burns.
The two occupants with the more severe burns were airlifted to Westchester Medical Center for treatment.
The fire, and igniting fireworks, were extinguished by Woodbury Fire Dept.
The five occupants of the vehicle were from the Mount Vernon, Westchester County area.
The two choppers landed on the highway, forcing the complete closure of the highway in both directions – causing traffic to back up on a holiday weekend for many miles.
The investigation is continuing by the New York State Police.
NEW YORK: Car carrying fireworks explodes on NYS Thruway between exits 15 and 16. pic.twitter.com/RvIKMRzW1r
— Jacob Fried (@YankyFried) July 4, 2017
(Charles Gross – YWN)
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4 Responses
I dont see how its relevant what the car was carrying, fireworks dont self ignite. the car exploded and it just so happened to be it had fireworks.
If they survive they’re in for a shock when they find out that their insurance doesn’t cover the loss of a car due to illegal use of it. It’s fortunate that no bystanders were injured or killed
eric55,
Cars don’t generally explode. You’re saying it’s just a coincidence that this one exploded and was carrying fireworks?
It could be that the car had only a minor problem that would never have actually “exploded” on its own (at least, not so soon and may have been detected and fixed before reaching an explosion) , but the sparks/heat from the minor problem ignited the fireworks which then was sufficient to accelerate the problem and bring about the explosion before it would have otherwise happened.