A 19-year-old preschool teacher narrowly escaped injury Monday when her recently purchased Ford Escape caught fire on Route 33 North during a heavy rainstorm.
The young woman, who works in Easton and did not wish to be identified, was driving home to Effort when her vehicle began experiencing problems.
“All of a sudden, my gas wasn’t working,” the preschool teacher said. “I pulled to the right lane… my car just stopped working.”
After pulling to the shoulder, she smelled smoke and called her mother, who urged her to exit the vehicle immediately. Initially hesitant due to the pouring rain, the young woman ultimately decided to get out.
“Right when I got out, the smoke got worse, and then I just started seeing sparks,” she said.
The teacher purchased the 2017 Ford Escape on Friday, April 25, her first independent car purchase.
She has experienced a string of vehicle misfortunes, with her first car being totaled after someone brake-checked her and her second vehicle damaged when another driver rear-ended her.
“This is like my first ever car that I bought by myself,” the Effort resident explained. “My dad would buy me cars, and this is like my third car.”
The young woman found the vehicle through her mother, who met the seller through a connection at work. The seller initially wanted “a few thousand” for the car but agreed to sell it for $4,000 after negotiation.
She made an initial $3,000 payment, with the remainder to be paid later. The seller claimed the car was “perfectly fine” with regular oil changes and a good engine.
Her mother test drove the vehicle before purchase and didn’t notice any issues. “My mom test drove it, she was like, ‘Oh, I don’t see anything wrong with it, like you’re okay to buy it,'” the 19-year-old explained.
Christopher Vincent, who owns Tri-State Buy Sell Trade at Palmer Park Mall, was traveling home to Tobyhanna when he noticed the smoke through the rain.
He observed numerous drivers slowing down but continuing past the young woman waving for help alongside her burning vehicle.
“This lady is on the side of the road right by her car, and her car is like 70 to 80% all on fire,” Vincent said. “I’m watching all these people just slamming on their brakes, but they don’t stop.”
Vincent pulled over at a safe distance and invited the stranded motorist to shelter in his vehicle while awaiting emergency responders.
Shortly after Vincent stopped, another motorist briefly pulled over to check if assistance was needed but left when he saw Vincent was already helping.
During the approximately 45-minute wait for authorities, one passing driver mockingly yelled, “You can’t park there,” as the vehicle burned.
According to Vincent, the young woman told him her check engine light had been blinking before the incident, but when she expressed concerns to her mother and a friend, they told her she was “just being paranoid.”
After the fire, the preschool teacher said the seller still demanded payment for the remainder of the purchase price.
“My mom called them, and she was like, ‘Hey, this is what happened.’ And they were like, ‘Well, your daughter’s still gonna have to pay me,'” she said. “I’m like, ‘Do you realize if I would have not listened, I could have died?'”
The fire completely destroyed the vehicle. The young woman is currently working with her insurance company to secure a rental car while awaiting the results of their investigation.
