Well, Mike and I and Teresa saw something odd today. We were on our way to pick up Amanda, our 15 year old, "middle" daughter. I pulled into a left turn lane and waited patiently for the light to change to green. Across from us, also waiting for the light to change, was a dirty, poorly running, 20+ year old Jeep Wagoneer. Mike commented about the large amount of black smoke pouring out of it's exhaust. It did seem a little bad. I was actually surprised the thing was running. It seemed like it took forever for the light to change. And, as we were sitting there waiting, I started to notice a smell like varnish. Mike noticed it too. It must have been the job. Gasoline that has been sitting in the tank too long will take on a smell like that. We were both looking at the truck then. Suddenly, there was a loud poof, whoosh, whatever, that came from the truck. I saw something burst from underneath. Next thing we know, the ground underneath the truck is on fire. Turns out, it was dripping the gas onto the ground. That's why I smelled the raw gas smell and not burning gas. Smoke started pouring out from under the truck and the flames grew larger. The driver seemed oblivious to all that was going on. People were honking at him and pointing at the fire. Right next to him was an ambulance that honked it's horn and put on it's red flashers. We finally get the left turn arrow. The drivers in front of me, and also Mike and I try to tell this guy to get out of his truck. Finally, he gets out and away from it. Plenty of drivers pulled over to help this guy, so Mike and I saw no need to stick around. Also, I'm pretty sure the ambulance people took care of it.
Posted by Valkyre at July 11, 2003 08:39 PM