Car Bomb in Salt Lake City...

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Car Explosion Kills Two People
January 6th, 2007 @ 10:00pm
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=782802
Whit Johnson Reporting

Fire investigators have their hands full trying to figure out how two people were killed when their car exploded near a Maverik gas station. Investigators still don't know the cause.

Jim Zonar: "What I heard was an explosion. It shook the whole hotel room."

Almost an entire city block could hear the explosions as firefighters battled the aggressive flames.

The car exploded and caught fire near the Maverik station at 600 South 200 West. The Red Lion Hotel is nearby. Some people staying there thought a bomb actually went off in the building.

From their balconies, they watched the events unfold, and later learned two people died in the flames.

Jim Zonar: "You could immediately see flames and smoke. So we came outside and by that time the car was engulfed in flames."

Dennis McKone / Salt Lake City Fire Department: "Crews arrived shortly thereafter. It took them quite awhile to get this fire knocked down, there was so much involvement with it at this time."

Around 3:00 this afternoon, a Ford Explorer burst into flames.

Jim Zonar: "You heard an explosion and this big pipe thing came out."

Michael Zonar: "It look like a firework. I mean, it went a good 200 feet up, and I mean, just 'doink.'"

Crews battled the fire, heavy smoke, and explosions. When it finally settled, crews made a gruesome discovery inside the SUV.

Michael Zonar: "We ran out at the same time. Just a lot of flames. We thought there was somebody in it."

And there was. Two people, both killed. Investigators don't know what caused the explosion, but they say it's unusual.

Dennis McKone / Salt Lake City Fire Department: "This is very uncommon for a situation like this. People heard a pop. The car was fully involved. The two victims were both in the front seat."

And witnesses saw something else, something suspicious.

Kyle Rich: "The vehicle was on fire, flames shooting everywhere. It looked to me like there was some kind of a rope hanging out of the gas tank with flames on it."

Firefighters couldn't comment on that, but say the incident is now a multi-agency investigation as they try to uncover many unanswered questions.

Reporter: "When you heard that explosion, what was the first thing that went through your head?"

Jim Zonar: "Well, I was with my son here, and I says, 'Let's get back, get out of the way.'"

Investigators are not releasing the names of the victims. They can't say if the car was rolling or stopped. And cars don't just explode. So exactly what happened? We don't have an answer yet.

OK this is just totally messed up... I used to work at the Super 8 accross the street from this Maverick Gas Station. It's a pretty scummy neighborhood, but there are hotels and motels all over the place (some nicer than others). Super 8 happenned to be not one of the nicer ones, which is surprising since they are usually OK.

Anyway, before you all ask, Mark Hoffman has not been paroled.

To me, this sounds like something organized crime would do. We have a rope hanging from the gas tank and, possibly, a pipe bomb (that metal tube that flew 200ft into the air, though it could have been part of the car). I suppose that someone could have punctured the gas tank, inserted a long piece of rope, and lit it from some distance to give it time to burn up to the tank. However, this is highly illogical, as we have had several snow storms in the last few days, and any rope lit from a distance would have likely been extinguished by the resulting slush and water. So my bet is that there was a timed explosive device involved. Which is not to say that I did it - I am just analyzing this half to death due to ASD.

That's scary.

That really is scary.

Here's the followup today...


Suicide Belived to be the Cause of SUV Explosion
January 7th, 2007 @ 10:00pm
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=784670

John Hollenhorst Reporting

A spectacular fireball that killed two people in a car over the weekend is most likely no accident. The theory from police as they investigate the fireball and blast that shook the downtown hotel district is suicide.

Investigators are being tight-lipped with information. But a double-suicide, or murder-suicide, emerged today as the prevailing theory.

Police and fire officials kept the facts under unusually tight wraps today considering how public this tragedy was and how many people it upset or inconvenienced. In the absence of a police explanation, we spoke to people in nearby hotels and motels. We heard one scenario that's distressing--if true. A hotel worker says he saw the whole thing on video.

The identity of the two victims who burned up inside the SUV has still not been announced. A police commander told us investigators know who one victim is and are fairly sure of the other.

A police dispatcher Sunday morning told us she was instructed to tell reporters "It was a simple suicide." Later, a police commander backed off slightly and said "It's being treated as a suicide while the investigation continues."

Police haven't said whether they've obtained any useful surveillance video. The fiery death scene behind the Maverik store was in plain view of several hotels and motels.

Two restaurant workers at the Red Lion Hotel told us a disturbing scenario which we cannot confirm. But one of them claimed he actually watched a videotape that showed exactly what happened.

According to their account, a young couple pulled into the Maverick station and filled a gas can. The man then supposedly poured gasoline over the woman's head as she sat in the Ford Explorer. Then he poured gas on himself and climbed in just before the fireball erupted. But was such an incident really video-taped?

Other Red Lion employees told us the hotel doesn't even have security cameras outside the building.

So, is the account from the restaurant workers true? Police aren't talking. The known facts are still waiting for an explanation.

I can't really argue with what the witnesses saw, but isn't this a bit much for a suicide?

Perhaps they put a can of gas in the back seat of vehicle then they used their cell phone which can create a spark and start an explosion. Static electricity from wearing fuzzy clothing can also spark a gas explosion. That is why one is suppose to ground themselves when getting out of vehicle by touching say top of car before touching the gas nozzle or gas tank cap.

That still doesn't explain the rope hanging out of the gas tank.

SUV Explosion Confirmed as a Planned Suicide Pact
January 8th, 2007 @ 11:09am
Ashley Hayes Reporting

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=786280

The fireball explosion that killed two people in an SUV Saturday is being investigated as a suicide pact.

The identity of the people inside the SUV has been confirmed as 26-year-old Dustin Riley and 27-year-old Andrea Riley.

The Salt Lake City police department detectives confirmed the blast that shook the downtown hotel district was planned by the people killed in the explosion.

In a press release issued today police say surveillance video shows the couple pull up to a gas pump where the man gets out of the Ford Explorer and sprays the inside of the SUV with gas.

Police say the woman stood and watched before they both got into the car and pulled around to the back of the Maverick station where the SUV exploded in a fireball.

The Maverick is in plain view of several hotels and motels.

Many people witnessed the event and were traumatized by what they saw.

Once again police are calling Saturday's SUV explosion a planned suicide pact by the two people who burned up inside. But because of the public nature of the explosion and the safety issues created, KSL has requested a police report, and we'll let you know what we learn.

OK, so finally the police are talking... It seems like they did have some surveillance video. I'll post the police report if and when KSL gets it.

Here's what I don't get. The area in which this occurred is highly populated. So there was a good chance that someone else would get hurt. Utah is, overall, a pretty rural state. So, as I see it, if they really wanted to kill themselves in this way, they should have driven about 60 miles west on I-80. At that point, they could have pulled off to one of the highway-side gas stations and sprayed the car. They could, then, have driven maybe another 1-2 miles down the road to where there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and did what they needed to do there. Preferably far away from any ghost towns that I may yet want to photograph.

As an aside (well not really) I was about 10-15 miles west on I-80 away from where this occurred on Saturday taking photos of ghost towns. I am not exaggerating when I say that there is absolutely nothing there. In another 5-10 miles, I would have been in a city called Tooele, and after that there is NOTHING until Wendover, NV. Seriously, it would not be too much to ask for these people to not do this in the downtown of a busy city. I don't get it.