A Sonic employee would have sat in the front seat of an exploding car if his nose hadn’t lifted him out of danger, Texas police told news outlets.
The employee was about to go home after his shift at about 11 p.m. on Friday, January 28 Sonic restaurant in Houstonthe police told KTRK.
But when he sat in his car, he immediately smelled a strange odor, the TV station reports. It smelled of some kind of gas, police said.
He rolled down his windows to air out the smell, then got out of the car—a fateful choice, as… the vehicle exploded just after he left, police told the Houston Chronicle.
The explosion could be heard for miles, and sent debris across the Sonic and elsewhere, KPRC reported. Parts of the car were found more than 100 yards from where it was parked.
The employee was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, police told the outlet, adding that it is “a miracle he survived”.
Investigators say a leaking ox-acetylene tank in the car’s trunk likely led to the explosion, outlets reported. The Sonic worker apparently has a relative who read and left the tank.
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