Man escapes serious injury after lit cigarette ignites vehicle

Posted on Thu, Feb. 17, 2005

Man escapes serious injury after lit cigarette ignites vehicle
Associated Press

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."

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


more...
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/10927682.htm

:hi:

I better use my ashtray.

BTW, that's the only thing I litter-cig butts! I know that doesn't make up for it but that's the best I can do.