A CAR EXPLODES in flames on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023 on East 206th Street by Bainbridge Avenue in Norwood, The Bronx.
Video courtesy of the Citizens’ App

An occupied car being driven along Bainbridge Avenue in Norwood spontaneously combusted on Saturday afternoon and later exploded and became engulfed in flames on East 206th Street.

 

The two male occupants had gotten out before the car exploded and had survived the ordeal, one of them told Norwood News, and the car, itself, was completely destroyed and burnt out. According to one of the occupants, neither occupant was injured.

Asked what happened, one of the two, a young man who declined to be identified, and who was not the owner nor the driver of the vehicle, told Norwood News, “We don’t know the cause.”

 

He said they were both in the car and had been out driving for a while and were on their way home when they suddenly saw flames coming out of the exhaust in the rear view mirror.

The young man said they turned onto East 206th Street from Bainbridge Avenue to get a fire extinguisher from their home but then the flames entered the trunk and that’s when they stopped and got out.

 

The young man said the fire department was called and put out the fire. Asked what model car it was, the young man said he believed it was a 2000 Mustang GT. Norwood News has reached out to the car manufacturer for comment. A spokesperson referred us to “the local authorities.”

When asked, the car passenger said that the driver has insurance. The car was later seen being towed away from the location by a truck as stunned onlookers took in the crazy scene, which happened at around 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9.

 

Asked if there was any damage, the young man shrugged and said, “My jacket.” He added, indicating there was more stuff in the trunk, “I tried to keep the trunk open.” He then said, “As you can see, there’s still a pile of stuff back there.”

The FDNY later said they responded to a call at 15.49 p.m. of a fire at 325 E 206th Street (between Perry Avenue and Bainbridge Avenue). Two fire units responded and the fire was extinguished at 4:38 p.m.

 

They confirmed there were no injuries. We asked if the fire department would be looking into the cause of the fire and an FDNY spokesperson responded, saying, “No investigation, no cause. We don’t generally investigate car fires unless deemed suspicious and it has not been.”

Separately, we asked the NYPD if they had investigated the incident and a spokesperson said that, in general, the NYPD would only investigate such incidents if there was a suspicion of criminality.

 

The FDNY also confirmed there was no evidence of any lithium ion batteries in the car.