3 burned when van explodes in flames in Bellevue

A van pulled out of a Chevron gas station on the southwest corner of Kamber Road and 145th Place Southeast about 2:20 p.m., made a right turn onto Kamber Road and then "just exploded," said Bellevue police spokeswoman Carla Iafrate. "It started rolling backward down Kamber, fully engulfed in flames."

An eyewitness somehow managed to stop the slow-moving van from rolling down a hill, Iafrate said. The three people jumped from the vehicle, flames scorching their clothes, she said.

FBI sent technicians to the scene to determine if the blast might be related to the bomb found in downtown Spokane earlier this week along the route of a parade to honor Martin Luther King Jr. were able to determine the explosion of the van was not related.

The three burn victims, believed to be 30 to 40 years old, were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Bellevue police spokeswoman Carla Iafrate said. She could not provide any information about the eyewitness who stopped the van from rolling down Kamber Road.

Bellevue Police Lt. Eric Keenan described the victims' burns as "serious."

ORIGINAL SOURCE
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UPDATE: Bellevue police say van blast caused by open bucket of gas