Another Evil SUV Incident

[ELKCHSR]

Man Tries to Toss Cigarette, SUV Ignites

SAN FRANCISCO - A man barely escaped serious injury Thursday after a lit cigarette he tried to toss out the window while driving across the Bay Bridge blew back in and ignited the vehicle, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The unidentified man was driving westbound at about 10:40 a.m. when he tossed the cigarette out the window of his Ford Expedition, said CHP Officer Shawn Chase.

Carried by the wind, the cigarette landed in his back seat and almost immediately burst into flames. The man quickly pulled to the side of the road, and leapt from the flame-filled SUV, which continued rolling into a guard rail, Chase said.

"He thought he had thrown it in park, but he didn't and it just kept going," the officer said. "It was in flames by the time he got out. He had some of his hair singed on the back of his head. It burnt down to the frame. There was nothing left."

The incident forced the closure of the Harrison Street off-ramp and one lane of traffic flowing into the city for about an hour.

He said the man will likely face a misdemeanor charge for littering.

"We see people throwing cigarettes out the window all the time but never a situation like this where it comes back in," Chase said. "This guy was lucky

 

[Elkhunter]

Servers him right for littering.

 

[2fastnaz]

A buddy of mine thru a butt out the window of his pickup while were were headed up north for an elk hunt some 20 years ago. There were like 15 of us and he had all the rifles and sleeping bags in the bed of his truck. Caught it on fire and burned everything. Not all the wood was ruined, about half were ruined the other half just severely scared. I still have the wood of my FN98 it burned. IIRC a couple of the guys barrels were ruined. I can still see the flames shooting out of the back of his truck flying down the hiway.

 

[Whiskers]

My wife and I were traveling East on Rte 322 just west of Harrisburg, Penna. As we came up on a pickup truck traveling the same direction we noticed smoke, our first thoughts were he was burning oil. As we got closer we noticed he had a couple of living room chairs in the back. The one closest to the tailgate was on fire. As we noticed it so did he, and pulled over. Once stopped the fire spread to the other chair. I helped him pull the chairs off the truck, and we watched them go up in smoke. Seems like his wife bought the chairs, and sent him to pick them up. He flipped a cigarette out the window and it landed in the last chair. The wind created by his 60mph speed helped ignite the chair. When we left he was standing along the road with that I don't want to go home look on his face. Can you imagine what she had to say!

 

[DRAFTSTUD]

Back in 1992 I bought a new Bass Boat, I took a buddy with me to break it in and the fellow smoked. Typical of most smokers, he cracked a window and lit up. As we drove back to my house he continued to light up and smoke and flip his butts out the window. The next time I went fishing, I opened the front seat and there was his butt and a Hole in my brand new Boat seat! Now you either put your butt in your coke or you don't Smoke!

 

[ringer]

Need to develop that concept to all vehicles where they immediately ignite when you throw a butt out. That would eliminate a lot of our forest fire problems. I ran across two hunters in Oregon years ago that threw a but out and it landed in the bed of their pickup which was full of gas cans for the jeep they were towing. The whole thing exploded into a huge ball of flames and ran through a barbed wire fence. I jumped out and tried to get to them but it was an inferno and ammo was going off like a war zone. I finally got to one and dragged him out of the burning grass and he screamed for me to pick up his fake leg. I dragged him and his leg back to the road and the guy I was working with fainted. He thought the guys leg blew off. They were both drunk as skunks and when the paramedics pulled one guys shirt up all of his skin came with it. Smelled kinda bad too. Shouldn't drink and smoke.

 

[Calif. Hunter]

It is so stupid. A lot of folks out here who smoke, don't want their car to stink - so they won't use their ashtray. :BLEEP: After all, a non-smoker they are trying to impress might get in the car and be turned off by the stench.

If you're going to smoke, use your damn ashtray! A buddy of mine who smokes puts baking soda in his ashtray - it puts the butts out right away, absorbs the smell and is easy to clean out.

 

[mtmiller]

He said the man will likely face a misdemeanor charge for littering.

I don't think they can make it stick. I would try him for attempted littering.

 

[JB]

cali, i even heard of people not using their ashtrays because you get more on a trade-in if you dont smoke in it.(can you believ that!...bastards)

 

[Quiet_One]

OMG u guys had ba dexpierences i try be real carefull with cigg butts i kinda paranoid know ic why but man as for u umm ringer wow thats bad one umm my dad like that he lucky neve rhad nothin happen but umm i even accidently forgot litt up with gas can by my leg onc ei relized in sec iput it out lucky there but times i know even me other sfeel why ones that dont smoke get the danger well i understand and umm i love to quit soon anyway i had started fire once not by cigg butt but by heating up oil in kitchen little to long kitchen caught on fire and it was big but only thing got damaged was few tiles on floor overhead by stove and what came form fire on cabinets wiped off no biggie scare dme to death thought i might killed few people how would i livw with that thank god all i can say and sorry for what yall went through sad but least no deathes

 

[huntinfool]

thats how alot of the fires along the roads are started....
people just don't get it sometimes,...

 

[old-boss-hen]

Thats why I carry an ash tray in my vehicle if they aren't equiped with one laready. I hate throwing them out just incase someone has a gas leak or it is too dry. I won't throw one out, I'll hold it until it goes out if I can not put it out in an ash tray or something. I see peopel throw them out every day and night I am coming and going to work. What would they do if they had a gas leak or someone ahead of them did? Not a pretty sight.

 

[Quiet_One]

true boss they go in flames and prob fatal but hey let em learn on them own

 

[ringer]

Quiet one-Those two ended up deader than shithouse rats. Their skin was bubbled loose and their hair was like a smokestack. Eyes were all a white color from the burn. You be careful with the smokes or start dippin' like I do.

 

[Quiet_One]

i agree ringer i do not toss butt out window i think before i do i quit that since people started puttin astrays in car i have no reason to wish i knew damage it does i know now thanks yall

 

[Elkhunter]

If a smoker don't want their car to smell of smoke, then just don't smoke in the car. If you need a smoke, then pull over and get out and have one. That is what we do. I think the inside of a smokers car smells like chit and don't want mine smelling like that. Anyone who smokes does not need to dispose of the butts out the window. That is BullChit, plain and simple.

 

[ELKCHSR]

I fully agree with that Bill...
I just don't let any one smoke in my truck...
I really don't think any one is that bad off that they just can't wait the few minutes to get to some place that is appropriate...