I had just traded cars with my daughter so I could babysit my triplet 14 month old grandchildren. I drove my 2014 Scion Xd without any issues for 3 hours (from Bath, Maine to the border of Vermont). I traded cars with my daughter, mother of triplets, and she drove off with her husband to attend a reunion. Approximately 10 minutes after my daughter and her husband left, she called and said the car made a loud pop sound and she had to pull over. Then, a man ran across four lanes of rt 89 to tell her the car was on fire. My husband fielded the call from my daughter who screamed, 'The car is on fire!' - then the call went dead. I had to drive my husband and triplet grandchildren in the direction of the car, visible by the black smoke plumes, while not knowing if my daughter and her husband were alive. The fire department, a state trooper, and local police were on the scene and I am thankful everyone was safe. Needless to say, this situation was very traumatic for my family. My daughter reported the oil light and the engine coming on, as well as a dash symbol she didn't recognize, right before the car caught on fire. The right hand lane of route 89 had a 1/4 mile streak of oil leading up to my burned out Scion Xd.
- NHTSA ID
- 11738246
- Incident
- Jun 28, 2025