Investigators believe that the SUV, which was traveling eastbound on the Grand Central Parkway ran over a piece of metal along the road as it approached an exit for the Brooklyn Queens Expressway near Astoria.
Credit: Screenshot/YouTube @Joe Wozniak
A 50-year-old man died on Tuesday afternoon after the car he was riding in exploded while on a Queens highway.
Remains of the man, who has not been identified by authorities, were found in the back seat of a Toyota Highlander at around 1:40 p.m. after the firefighters put the fire out.
Investigators believe that the SUV, which was traveling eastbound on the Grand Central Parkway ran over a piece of metal along the road as it approached an exit for the Brooklyn Queens Expressway near Astoria.
Authorities suggest the metal struck the vehicle’s gas tank, setting the car on fire and killing the passenger.
The driver, a 26-year-old man, and another passenger, a 25-year-old woman, were able to escape the blaze. Emergency workers rushed them to the New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens in stable condition.
Amateur video taken from across the highway shows traffic moving along the Grand Central Parkway as the dark plume rose from the wreckage.
Follow Chester Jesus Soria on Twitter@chestersoria
