Arachnophobia - The Sequel; Michigan Motorist Sees Spider, Sets Car & Gas Pump On Fire
We recently featured the story of a woman in Indiana who, frightened by a spider alighting on her shoulder, bolted from her car while it was still in reverse, resulting in a collision with a passing school bus and minor injuries to her son, who was in the back seat at the time. Now comes word that a Michigan man managed to deal with his arachnophobia by setting his car and a gasoline pump aflame when he was frightened by a spider while refueling his car.
He told police that he stopped at a Mobil station in Center Line to gas up, when he spotted a spider on the fuel filler neck. Deathly afraid of spiders, he decided the smart thing to do was get out his cigarette lighter and try to incinerate the eight-legged creature that was distressing him so. The spark from the lighter ignited fumes and surveillance video from the Mobil station shows flames spreading from the car to the apparently still pumping fuel dispenser.
“He didn’t have a cigarette. He didn’t have anything on him. All of a sudden I look out and I see flames,” station employee Susan Adams told Fox 2 Detroit.
Adams hit the big red button to remotely shut down the pump and called for help from the local fire department, but by the time firefighters arrived, the motorist had already put out the flames with one of the station’s fire extinguishers. The vehicle suffered only minor damage but the gasoline pump was destroyed. Nobody was injured.
There’s no report of any criminal charges or civil actions, but apparently the motorist is still welcome at that Mobile station. He was back the next day to apologize and refuel, this time managing to do it without starting a conflagration. “He was sorry,” Adams said. “He was sorry, he said he didn’t know. It is just one of those things that happen — stupidity.” Insurance is expected to cover the station’s damages.
Phobias are irrational fears and usually take some kind of therapy or treatment to dispose of them. In the meantime, however, folks, please remember that gasoline fumes are highly flammable when mixed with oxygen and even a tiny spark from static electricity, or even an electrical contact on a cell phone of other digital device, let alone a cigarette lighter’s flint and striker, can ignite those fumes. If that warning is necessary, since I forgot to say so in the post about the arachnophobe mom in Indiana, also, please don’t leave your car when it’s running and in gear.
Ronnie Schreiber edits Cars In Depth, a realistic perspective on cars & car culture and the original 3D car site. If you found this post worthwhile, you can get a parallax view at Cars In Depth. If the 3D thing freaks you out, don’t worry, all the photo and video players in use at the site have mono options. Thanks for reading – RJS
Ronnie Schreiber edits Cars In Depth, the original 3D car site.
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The car involved is an Acclaim, which had the huge white simulated backup lights. Up to a few years ago I had a 1990 Spirit. Fuel-injected V6, electronic 4spd auto. Once you dealt with the standard problems, like aquatic headlights and rebuilding the valve guides, and properly maintaining the transmission, and trying to keep the paint on it, it was quite a good car. Excellent design for its time, but cheaply built. It was as efficient as much newer cars (40mpg Cdn highway), with a versatile split/folding rear seat (1990). It was so comfortable people would comment on it without prompting. Never failed an emissions test. Never broke down. Most intelligent shifting automatic I ever drove. It was the most rust-proof car I've ever owned. The V6 was powerful for the size of the car. There's no sense owning one now because they lack modern safety features. The rear window configuration and lack of headrests is a recipe for head injuries if rear-ended. I suspect that being a cheap car, they were owned by people who didn't look after them. There are a surprising number still on the road, and this Acclaim doesn't look like a beater.
Speaking of the Acclaim, does anyone know of a chart or diagram with the taxonomy of Chrysler's K cars? he last New Yorker and the first gen minivan were the last iterations, that much I know, but has a single platform ever spawned more models? I'm partial to the P variants myself.