[UCANSEE2]

There was a post on FR (can't remember the specific article) that said the engine was ejected from the vehicle. At that point, all bets are off, as you have hot parts coming into contact with fuel being released from severed lines at high pressures.

Was this Mercedes Benz a DIESEL ?

I saw a car that was in the exact same type of accident. It hit a telephone pole. Chopped the car in half, the engine was down the street. No fire, and the occupants got out and ran away (they were being pursued by police, which is why they were going so fast on a side street). That car had a Gasoline engine and we know how flammable gasoline is. Diesel fuel is very hard to ignite.

[hoosiermama]

It used gasoline