Fire, Explosion On I-20 In Multi-car Pileup

The authorities are wondering how they’re going to sort out this multi-car crash that happened near Lancaster Road in Dallas. WFAA reports on the incident.

The Dallas County Sheriff’s Department says at least five cars were involved in the accident, which happened late at night near Lancaster Road on I-20 West. The accident was so severe that two cars caught on fire and one exploded. Two people were killed at the scene.

Car fires keep getting more rare and are usually minor. Maybe something spilled during a repair and caught fire when the engine heated up. Explosions, though common on the silver screen, are even more rare in practice.

The only substance in a car capable of exploding is gasoline, and it has to be vaporized in order to catch fire. To make it explode, there has to be enough vapor in a small enough space. Modern gas tanks are designed to reduce the chances of this happening as much as possible.

Another possibility is that one of the cars was carrying something like a propane tank that got hot enough to explode. Police will definitely look into this possibility because explosions are so rare.

If your car does catch fire, whether in a crash or while driving, pull over and turn off the car, then get away 100 feet before calling for help.