16 Jul 2020
An accident can be terrifying to survivors. For one Phoenix man and his friends who survived after the vehicle they were riding in caught fire and explosion, theirs was a particularly harrowing experience,
The AZ Family reports that on Saturday, August 10th, Jesus Galaviz and his friends were heading back to Phoenix after spending the day in Scottsdale on the Loop 202 when they heard a loud pop coming from the engine of his 1998, Toyota Camry.
His friend, who had been the designated driver that night, found that the brakes weren’t working and so he attempted to use the emergency brake to stop the vehicle. By this time the pop became a fire.
One of the friends in the car, fearing for her life jumped from the moving vehicle.
“As it was moving, she just jumped out and dropped and rolled,” Galaviz said.
The group managed to get the car stopped on the shoulder of the highway, and the flames continued to get larger. All who had been inside the Toyota and were able to get clear and dial 911 just before the Camry exploded.
Galaviz described the incident as a near-death experience.
“We’re all still pretty shook up. It did feel like a near-death experience kind of,” he said.
Thankfully, no one was injured in the fiery incident. Traffic was backed up on Loop 202 for several hours while emergency crews put out the fire and cleared the debris from the roadway.
Galaviz told CBS that he had owned the vehicle for seven years and that it was running great and in good repair.
Members of his family have loaned him a vehicle while the investigators try to determine what might have caused the Toyota to catch fire and explode. So far, investigators don’t know what may have caused the accident.