Coachella Explosion Rocks McDonald's in 100-Plus Degree Heat
It got so hot at Coachella over the weekend there was an explosion.
Darwin Bell
No, not the kind seen on-stage at the Coachella festival when holographic Tupac was on the mic: This was a real, honest-to-goodness blast of fire at an Indio McDonald's.
Riverside County Sheriff's officials say this is what happened:
About 1:44 p.m. Saturday the driver of a pickup truck with two propane tanks in the bed heard hissing.
Not good.
The truck was going through a McDonald's drive-through at Avenue 48 at Jackson Street, deputies said in a statement. The driver got out to check out the noise.
Bad move.
The department says this is what happened next:
He put the truck in park and walked to the rear of the truck to check the tank. When he moved one of the tanks, it exploded, causing the other tank to explode as well. The blast caused the roof of the truck to buckle and the tailgate to blow off, striking a vehicle behind it. The ensuing fire engulfed the truck, scorched part of the drive-through, and damaged the roof of the restaurant. The patrons of the restaurant were evacuated during the incident.
Oops. It was quite a blast, caught on video by a bystander who has since taken his content off of YouTube (darn).
The driver and three family members were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, including burns, deputies said.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department reminds you not to keep propane tanks out in the sun, especially when the thermometer has topped 100 degrees.
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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