Vehicle fire near Cheney Lake kills driver, injures passerby who tried to help
One person died in a vehicle fire and another person trying to help was injured on Friday afternoon, the Reno County Sheriff’s Office said.
Officers responded to a call about a driver going in and out of a ditch at 2:29 p.m. in the 2000 block of east Parallel Road, which is near the northwest tip of Cheney Lake. 911 emergency communications was told a “female passenger was able to get out of the car but the driver was trying to get the vehicle out of the ditch,” the sheriff’s office said.
“The vehicle then caught fire while the driver was still inside,” the sheriff’s office said on Facebook.
Other people at the scene tried to “pull the driver out of the car but they were unable to get him out.” A passerby who tried to help the driver is being treated for injuries.
“As the vehicle fire grew there was then an explosion from the vehicle and it became fully involved with fire,” the Facebook post said. “The driver was still inside of the vehicle and was ultimately consumed by the fire.”
The sheriff’s office is trying to identify the driver before releasing the name.
