Man Suffers 'Life Changing Injuries' After Electric Car Bursts Into Flames While Driving Down Highway
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
A man suffered serious injuries near Broughton, North Wales, Aug. 2 when his electric vehicle spontaneously burst into flames.
According to the Liverpool Echo, the man was driving near the A55, also known as the North Wales Expressway.
His car reportedly caught on fire without warning, and bystanders rushed to the vehicle to pull the man from the flames. Paramedics attended to the victim at the scene.
Police said the man was eventually transported via ambulance to a hospital with “serious, possibly life-changing injuries,” the Echo reported.
The Welsh Ambulance Service said two rapid response vehicles, an emergency ambulance, helicopter and the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service responded to the scene.
Authorities closed the road at the site of the incident and it remained that way for several hours.
Chief Inspector Alwyn Williams of North Wales Police said fire crews remained at the scene into the afternoon “due to the car involved being an electric vehicle.”
The incident in North Wales followed another electric car fire that occurred in June.
According to Electrek, Gonzalo Salazar wrote in an email to them that he purchased a new 2019 Jaguar I-Pace in 2020. He did not have any issues with the vehicle until two years later, but when they did arise, they were significant.
Salazar said he left his car plugged in overnight on June 16, and he took it the next day to run errands. He drove the car for just about 12 miles before returning it to the garage.
After going inside his house, Salazar said he began hearing strange popping noises from the garage. He went outside and saw thick smoke coming from the vehicle.
“My thought immediately was, ‘When there is smoke, there is fire,’ and I need to get the car out of the house garage,” Salazar told Electrek.
He called Jaguar roadside assistance and asked them to transport the vehicle to a safe place, but the situation continued to worsen.
“When I ended the conversation with them there were more pops, but this time it was followed by fire from under the car,” Salazar wrote. “I then called 911 to come help with the situation.”
“But this was not a slow burn, once the fire started there were multiple pops, and the car was just engulfed in flames rapidly.”
Eventually, the majority of the vehicle was completely destroyed by the fire. Photos of the car after the fire was put out showed just a small portion of the front of the car remained intact.
Another EV fire… this one from Florida earlier this summer. A Jaguar i-pace was parked in an attached garage when the owner heard “popping” sounds and saw smoke puffing from the car. The car was moved outside before it burst into flames. I guess you can call them “lucky”. pic.twitter.com/JUOwthCSb4
— Old Brass (@StoichioGuy) August 2, 2022
Electrek reported that at the time, Salazar’s was the fourth known Jaguar I-Pace batter to catch on fire without an apparent cause.
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