[smoothy]

If three people hadn't been injured, 2 seriously I would have put this in the humour forum.

Notice the strange use of "Victims" in the article... when the so called victims were "victims" of their own stupidity.

Photos and original story at this site...
Police: Victims poured gas into engine before van blast | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KOMO News | Local & Regional

Police: Victims poured gas into engine before van blast 838
Share By KOMO Staff

BELLEVUE, Wash. -- An open gas container and a Jerry-rigged system of putting gas into the car while driving is the root cause of the explosion that left two men and a woman burned in Bellevue Wednesday afternoon, Bellevue police said Thursday.

- View photos of fire scene

The woman told investigators Thursday they were having trouble keeping their Ford Econoline van running, so they went to a Factoria gas station to get gas. They didn't have a gas can, instead filling an open bucket with two gallons of gas.

Police say the three had removed the engine cowling between the two front seats of the van and used a water bottle to transfer gas from the bucket directly into the carburetor in order to keep the engine running as they drove east on Kamber Road, said police spokeswoman Carla Iafrate.

By now, the van was full of gas fumes, Iafrate said, and the van stalled again just before 145th Place SE. As they tried to restart it, the van exploded.

The van became fully engulfed in flames and began to roll backwards.

"The whole van... was engulfed in red flames," said witness Julie Sarchet. "The people were saying, 'Honey, I love you! Are you OK? Stay calm.' "

Other witnesses told police the woman jumped out the back of the van and fell to the ground on fire, and the van rolled over her leg. The two men jumped out in flames and ran toward the Chevron station on the corner desperate to get their fires out. One man made it into the gas station and tried to douse himself with water.

Firefighters were able to get the van fire out within minutes and medics took the three victims to Harborview Medical Center. They are still there Thursday but their conditions are not known. Wednesday, police said two were seriously burned and third suffered minor burns.

Iafrate said the three victims were all from Bellevue but did not release their identities


The Blotter | Bellevue police say van blast caused by open bucket of gas | Seattle Times Newspaper

Bellevue police say van blast caused by open bucket of gas

Posted by John de Leon


Turns out it was a combination of gas fumes, an open bucket of gas -- and some questionable decisions -- that caused Wednesday's van explosion and fire that injured three people in Bellevue.

One of the victims told police the group had obtained gas from a gas station minutes before the explosion. They didn't have a gas can so they filled an open bucket with two gallons of gas.

They had removed the cowling from over the engine, which is located between the two front seats. The occupants used a water bottle to transfer gas from the bucket directly into the van's carburetor to keep the engine running.

The van became filled with gas fumes. After the vehicle stalled they tried to restart it and it exploded into flames, fire investigators said.

The two men and a woman suffered burns when the Dodge Chevrolet Ford Econoline van exploded around 2:20 p.m. The van had had pulled out of a Chevron gas station on the southwest corner of Kamber Road and 145th Place Southeast, made a right turn onto Kamber Road and then "just exploded," according to Bellevue police spokeswoman Carla Iafrate.

The three burn victims, believed to be 30 to 40 years old, were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Iafrate said. The two men were in serious condition and the woman was in satisfactory condition on Wednesday evening.

All three are from Bellevue.

Initially, police said the van was a Ford. But they're now saying it was a Chevy.


http://autoholics.com/2011/01/21/Dar...ry-Fail-494122

Darwin Award Candidates Blow Up Van, Selves in Fuel-Delivery Fail
By: Jen DunnawayPosted On: 1/21/2011 8:07AM SuzyBruisy Two men and a woman blew the roof off their nice Dodge camper van and set themselves on fire by trying to drive while pouring raw fuel into the carb using a water bottle and an open bucket. The van was having a hard time staying running, and the geniuses decided the best course of action would be to remove the engine cover in the passenger compartment and feed gas directly to the motor while it was running. Meanwhile, gas fumes were building up dangerously inside the vehicle, and after it stalled and they tried to restart it, they were all blown into the middle of next week. Now listen, I realize that burning would suck terribly, so I guess it'd be nice to try to refrain from making fun of the victims. But this is a circumstance which, as a friend of mine observed about that psycho who went and stabbed a bunch of people for making fun of his farting, "robs the tragedy of about 99% of the gravity a killing spree deserves." As the van, by now a towering inferno, began rolling backwards, the flaming woman jumped out the back and got her leg run over, while the men, also ablaze, went flailing and screaming in the direction of the nearest... wait for it... gas station. Full story at Komo News, updated at Seattle Times.

[paraclete]

Smoothy I just don't know what to say, the raw stupidity leaves me speechless

[smoothy]

Smoothy I just don't know what to say, the raw stupidity leaves me speechless

I does that... doesn't.


I wonder how these people managed to survive as long as they have.

[QLP]

You only need to read the headline on this one:

[smoothy]

You only need to read the headline on this one:

Without even reading it (but I will)... I'll guess it resulted in a failed attempt... and jailtime or death.

[cdad]

Isn't Bellevue the name of a famous mental institution or is that just in the movies?

[smoothy]

Isnt Bellevue the name of a famous mental institution or is that just in the movies?

If I'm not mistaken it is in NYC.

[excon]

Hello smoothy:

Talk about nuts from the Northwest, how many cops out there STILL don't know their behavior is going to be taped - especially in Seattle where the Justice Department is already investigating the cops for abuse??

Well, there's at least one.

excon

[smoothy]

Hello smoothy:

Talk about nuts from the Northwest, how many cops out there STILL don't know their behavior is going to be taped - especially in Seattle where the Justice Department is already investigating the cops for abuse???

Well, there's at least one.

excon

Particularly those that do it in front of their own cruisers dash cam where they KNOW with 100% certainty its going to be recorded.. even worse... dumb criminals that videotape their own acts... and leave the camcorder or camera behind.