Just hanging out at the Xfinity store in Layton and a truck is on fire. Apparently whoever was in the truck got out
WARNING: The 's' word is heard a couple times in the video. pic.twitter.com/t99CDYXj2x
— Ryan Comer (@rbcomer83) August 24, 2019
LAYTON, Utah, Aug. 24, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Stunned bystanders grabbed their cellphones Saturday afternoon as a blazing but driverless truck — dwarfed by high flames and billowing black smoke — coasted across Antelope Drive on Saturday.
“Just hanging out at the Xfinity store in Layton and a truck is on fire,” said Twitter user Ryan Comer, who allowed Gephardt Daily to share his video, above. “Apparently, whoever was in the truck got out.”
Jason N. Cook, Layton City Fire Battalion Chief and spokesman, confirmed that and added a few more details.
The fire was reported at about 1:30 or 1:45 p.m., Cook told Gephardt Daily. Crews responded to the area of about 1000 West, in the same area where eateries, including Sonic drive-in, can be found and Target Superstore is across the street.
“A gentleman was in his vehicle, a 2013 GMC Denali truck, and was waiting to make a turn onto Antelope,” Cook said. “We don’t know why yet, but it caught fire, and the fire started in the rear of the vehicle. And he didn’t realize it.
“He got it into park and got out, and the fire was significant,” Cook said. “The truck coasted while heavily involved with fire … It coasted across all four lanes of Antelope, arguably Layton’s busiest road, especially on a Saturday afternoon.”
Against the odds, the driverless truck hit no other vehicles.
“Fortunately, it came to rest against a fire hydrant, otherwise it would have continued to roll into the parking lot of the Target Super Center, and probably hit a number of parked vehicles,” Cook said.
Fire officials arrived and quickly knocked down the truck fire.
“He (the driver) escaped without injury,” Cook said. “The truck was a complete loss. I’m guessing it was worth $30,000 to $35,000.”
The suspected cause, or at least a contributing factor, is believed to be a gas leak, Cook said.
“It (the fire) was spectacular, and kicked off a lot of black smoke. A lot of people posted pictures on Twitter.”
It was a work truck owned by Lynch oil out of burley Idaho. The driver was a haz mat truck driver who worked for lynch oil. He was safe. He saw the truck burst into flames while he was driving and he bailed out.
Lynch oil has a very bad habit of not taking care of there trucks. I know this because my uncle used to work for them. He left because of how badly the company was run.