Time: Around 4 P.M.
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Vehicle(s) Involved: Plymouth Voyager
GRAND RAPIDS – What seemed like a good investment almost cost a Grand Rapids man his life. Less than an hour after buying an old car, it went up in flames with him underneath it around 4 p.m. on Friday.
Joe Bowen, 46, purchased a $400 Plymouth Voyager mini-van on Turner Street on Friday with hopes of fixing and reselling it.
About 15 minutes after he bought the van, he said it began to stall.
He pulled into the parking lot of the closed West Side Bar on the corner of Broadway Avenue NW and Richmond Street NW and parked inches away from the building so he could look at the car in the shade.
“I noticed gas leaking so I grabbed near the fuel tank while it was running and it must have sparked it,” said Bowen. “I rolled out from underneath it when it went on fire. I'm all singed.”
Less than an hour later, the car was burnt to its frame. The outside wall of the bar next to the van was damaged but firefighters were able to smother the fire before it could grow inside the building.
No one was inside of the West Side Bar because it closed in January. Despite it being closed, owner Randy Tann said there has been a lot of commotion there anyway.
On Thursday, it had been the site of a burglary for the third time in 14 years. There wasn't much to steal but the burglars damaged the windows.
“It must have been a coincidence or something and (Bowen) is being very open about fixing the damage,” said Tann, 61. “He's a West Sider and West Siders are usually open and honest about things.”
Tann and his wife, Chris, have been trying to sell the bar since it closed.
Grand Rapids Fire Lt. Joe Donohoe said his crew on Engine No. 3 cleared the fire within five minutes and declared an undetermined mechanical error the cause.
No one was injured in the incident."
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