LAKE ORION, Mich. (WXYZ) — A 20-year-old Orion Township man is uninjured after driving while unaware his vehicle was on fire Wednesday morning.
According to Lake Orion police, an officer was on routine patrol on North Park Boulevard, when he heard loud gunshot-like popping sounds. The officer surveyed the area and saw a red 2008 Saturn Vue with the bottom part of its back hatch and rear bumper on fire near northbound M-24.
The fire was spreading quickly despite the -3 degree temperature and getting closer to the gas tank. Police say the driver appeared unaware of the fire.
The officer turned on his sirens and pulled the driver over. The man parked at the corner of North Lapeer Road, and the officer rushed to get the driver out of the burning car. The man asked police why he was being pulled over to which the officer responded his vehicle was on fire. The man was shocked to see the flames and told the officer he was not sure how the fire may have started, police say. He was the only person in the vehicle.
Oxford Township Fire arrived to the scene shortly after and extinguished the fire. They ruled the blaze accidental, citing the cause was "most likely the result of a portion of the exhaust system bent to cause contact with plastic portions of the vehicle."
No one was harmed during the incident.
