Man suffers burns after his van explodes
MIAMI (WSVN) -- A South Florida man is recovering at the hospital after he lit a cigarette and his vehicle exploded.
Surveillance videos at a convenience store caught the explosion.
Police said 53-year-old welder Nelson Gonzalez was heading south on East 14th Street and 4th Avenue Thursday morning, when he lit a cigarette and suddenly his vehicle exploded. "All the information that we have leads us to believe that there was a gas leak and when he lit the cigarette, it caused the explosion," said Luis Simon of Hialeah Fire Rescue.
The explosion caused nearby store windows to shatter. "The side door of the cargo area flew out and took out a metal fence across the street and then took down a royal palm, full grown palm tree," said Simon.
Gonzalez suffered minor burns and is recovering at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
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