Dave P
Member
Jun 29, 10:31 PM
Fireworks engulf car
Car fire kills 1, severely burns another man
Melbourne police Sgt. Sean Riordan looks at hundereds of spent and live fireworks inside a car Tuesday. One man was killed and another severely injured. Photo by Michael R. Brown, FLORIDA TODAY
BY LOURDES BRIZ
FLORIDA TODAY
MELBOURNE -- Virtually everything flammable inside the late-model Toyota Corolla burned.
So intense were the flames, the steering wheel is a twisted skeleton. Upholstery, door panels, interior trim: all gone. But on the burned-out back seat, near the reclined framework of what once was the passenger's front seat, lie the remnants of hundreds of spent fireworks. More were found in a crate in the car's trunk.
Melbourne police on Tuesday still were investigating the fire Monday night that erupted in the Corolla as Artavis Walker, 23, and Antonio Robinson, 27, drove down Carver Drive around 9:40 p.m.
Walker died Tuesday of severe burns. Robinson is in critical condition at Orlando Regional Medical Center withsecond-degree burns on most of his body.
Sgt. Sean Riordan of the Melbourne police said at least one of the men was lighting the fireworks with cigarettes and launching them out the window of the moving car.
"From looking at the car, you would never guess that fireworks could have done something like this," Riordan said. "It looks like someone lit it on fire using gasoline."
After the fire ignited, Robinson bailed out of the Corolla, and it continued for several more blocks until it crashed into a light pole. Firefighters said they had to hose him down before they could treat him.
Walker couldn't get out until the car came to a stop, Riordan said.
Police reported seeing fireworks shooting from the car when they arrived on scene. Fire crews couldn't immediately fight the flames because of the danger involved.
Melbourne fire officials stressed the danger of both legal and illegal fireworks. Generally speaking, anything that explodes or flies is illegal.
Riordan said it's not uncommon for police to get calls concerning fireworks shot from vehicles.
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I bet his mamma also warned him about playing with sharp sticks!
Fireworks engulf car
Car fire kills 1, severely burns another man
Melbourne police Sgt. Sean Riordan looks at hundereds of spent and live fireworks inside a car Tuesday. One man was killed and another severely injured. Photo by Michael R. Brown, FLORIDA TODAY
BY LOURDES BRIZ
FLORIDA TODAY
MELBOURNE -- Virtually everything flammable inside the late-model Toyota Corolla burned.
So intense were the flames, the steering wheel is a twisted skeleton. Upholstery, door panels, interior trim: all gone. But on the burned-out back seat, near the reclined framework of what once was the passenger's front seat, lie the remnants of hundreds of spent fireworks. More were found in a crate in the car's trunk.
Melbourne police on Tuesday still were investigating the fire Monday night that erupted in the Corolla as Artavis Walker, 23, and Antonio Robinson, 27, drove down Carver Drive around 9:40 p.m.
Walker died Tuesday of severe burns. Robinson is in critical condition at Orlando Regional Medical Center withsecond-degree burns on most of his body.
Sgt. Sean Riordan of the Melbourne police said at least one of the men was lighting the fireworks with cigarettes and launching them out the window of the moving car.
"From looking at the car, you would never guess that fireworks could have done something like this," Riordan said. "It looks like someone lit it on fire using gasoline."
After the fire ignited, Robinson bailed out of the Corolla, and it continued for several more blocks until it crashed into a light pole. Firefighters said they had to hose him down before they could treat him.
Walker couldn't get out until the car came to a stop, Riordan said.
Police reported seeing fireworks shooting from the car when they arrived on scene. Fire crews couldn't immediately fight the flames because of the danger involved.
Melbourne fire officials stressed the danger of both legal and illegal fireworks. Generally speaking, anything that explodes or flies is illegal.
Riordan said it's not uncommon for police to get calls concerning fireworks shot from vehicles.
************
I bet his mamma also warned him about playing with sharp sticks!