SUV Explodes After Man Tries To Light Cigarette Near Propane Tank

An SUV parked in a Van Nuys parking lot Thursday night suddenly exploded after the driver lit a cigarette next to propane tanks he had stored there.

Firefighters and police rushed to the parking lot of a supermarket in the 7200 block of Van Nuys Boulevard after receiving a call about an SUV that exploded around 10:30 p.m., police said. When first responders arrived, the man inside the vehicle told them he was trying to light a cigarette when the explosion occurred.

He suffered minor injuries and was transported to a nearby hospital, according to Los Angeles police.

Agency investigators determined it was a propane explosion.

Pieces of the parked vehicle flew in all directions, one of which became lodged in a nearby tree. The explosion left the Toyota SUV largely in pieces. The sound of the explosion could be heard at least a few blocks away, according to a man who lives around the corner from the parking lot, who said it was “like an earthquake shaking the windows.”

“But it all disappeared as soon as it started,” Ken Smith said, adding that he looked out the window and saw his neighbors standing in front of their house and looking around after the big boom.

The LAPD closed the parking lot following the detonation.

No further details have been released by authorities.