FIRST PHOTO: A Mercury Villager GS is engulfed in flames Friday afternoon along Honoapiilani Highway in Waikapu. The new owner of the vehicle, Bob Gagne of Wailuku, said he had owned the car for a half hour before he was forced to pull off the road because flames were shooting up out of the engine compartment. "I smelled gas and then flames started coming up from underneath," Gagne said.
SECOND PHOTO: Passer-by Kirk Donaghy tried to use a fire extinguisher from his work van to put out the fire, but his efforts were in vain. He was one of two drivers to stop with extinguishers, but the sounds of the fire from the car forced both men to retreat to safety. Within minutes, the van was engulfed, with all of its plastic parts and windows melting and sending up a thick plume of black smoke. By the time firefighters arrived, the van was a total loss.
For more on the fire, see story following in Local News.
Article Photos
The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
