Gas can, cigarette cause car explosion (Darwin alert)

RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL ^ | 1-21-04 | RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL

[Atlas Sneezed]

A 52-year-old Reno woman suffered burns to her hand and face after a small gas can exploded in the rear of her vehicle as she tried to light a cigarette, police said. Carol Wall continued driving about a half a block before she escaped from the vehicle. She was taken to Washoe Medical Center, treated and released, a hospital spokesperson said. The explosion occurred about noon near Ryland and Wells avenues.

[Atlas Sneezed]

[dfwgator]

The lawyers will still find a way to sue the car company.

[old3030]

I'm sure it wasn't funny (so why am I chuckling?), but why would she continue driving half a block? Generally speaking, when I'm on fire I like to get it out as soon as possible rather than try to find a good parking spot first.

[T'wit]

>> why would she continue driving half a block?

She needed to take a few drags first.

[Sam Cree]

Open flames and gas fumes don't mix too good...hope she's OK.

[Blood of Tyrants]

And the oil company (shouldn't have made gasoline so flammable) and the cigarette company (she wouldn't have gotten burned if she whasn't addicted by the eeeeeevil tobacco companies).

[lilylangtree]

Makes a good case to NOT drive and smoke while carrying a gasey can of whatever.

[OXENinFLA]

Ummmmmm How did she set off the explosion?

Was the container open?

[GigaDittos]

Did you say Janet Reno? Oh darn! I misunderstood.

[dfwgator]

Open flames and gas fumes don't mix too good

Oh they mix real good, that's the problem.

[Petronski]

When I was in grad school in Pittsburgh in the early nineties I remember laughing myself into a stupor over a story John Cigna covered every morning for about a week. It seems that during that bitter cold spell, a local man's kitchen exploded, destroying the back half of his house.

How, you ask? Well, his car wouldn't start--the gas line froze--and there was no warm weather in the forecast. Being without a car was not acceptable, so the man had a great idea: heat the gas.

No kidding, the report was that the man filled a soup pot with gasoline and took it to his kitchen, where he proceeded to begin to heat it on his stove.

BOOM

I wish I could find a cite or link to this story. Anyone else remember it?

[GigaDittos]

Sounds like yall are trying to start a "flame" war here. Better stop or I'll call the administrator. )

[Kermit the Frog Does theWatusi]

Was the driver a high-ranking official in the NEA?

[HEY4QDEMS]

It's OK, I'm sure the state will pay her hospital bills with the tobacco settlement money.

Good think she was driving a mini van and not an evil SUV, wonder what the headline would have read if she had ? Hmmmmmmmmm??

[SAJ]

Generally speaking?!? ROFL!!!!

How large is your sample size? And, can you still get car insurance after all these episode?

LMAOWT!!

[SAJ]

episode ==> episodes

Sorry, I'm still laughing too hard to speel chek...

[monocle]

On the contrary, the explosion demonstrates how well they mix.

[old3030]

Actually I did have a car burn up once, one of GM's fine X-bodies. The engine block caught fire during morning rush hour. In that case I didn't have much choice in stopping since all the wiring burned. I happened to be in the far left lane and coasted onto the shoulder. It still created a huge slowdown.

[KarlInOhio]

No kidding, the report was that the man filled a soup pot with gasoline and took it to his kitchen, where he proceeded to begin to heat it on his stove.

http://www.weatherimages.org/wxhumor.html

George Gibbs, 23, suffered second- and third-degree burns on his head in Columbus, Ohio, in January. He had diagnosed his car's problem as a frozen fuel line, which he thought he could correct by running warm gasoline through it. He then tried to heat a two-gallon can of gasoline on a gas stove. [Columbus Dispatch, Jan94]

Now, where is the story about the man who sucked up a bunch of wasps with his vacuum cleaner, saw that they were crawling back out and decided to gas them by vacuuming an open but unlit burner on a stove?

[thackney]

"Darwin Award" Ping