NY Officer's Patrol Car Explodes, No Major Injuries

A police officer walked away from a frightening explosion Tuesday morning in Newburgh, NY.

Newburgh, NY, police Taras Karabelas walked away without major injuries after this patrol car explosion. (Photo: Newburgh PD/CBS Local)Newburgh, NY, police Taras Karabelas walked away without major injuries after this patrol car explosion. (Photo: Newburgh PD/CBS Local)

A police officer walked away from a frightening explosion Tuesday morning in Newburgh, NY.

Authorities believe a small oxygen tank exploded in the trunk of the car. It's not yet known what caused the tank to explode, but the Orange County fire department, state police and the FBI are investigating.

Newburgh’s police chief said when he rolled up to the scene he thought the shattered police car he saw had been hit by a rocket-propelled grenade or had run over a landmine.

“There was metal shrapnel and glass that extended at least a hundred feet from the rear of the vehicle outward,” police Chief Donald Campbell said.

It was a potential kill zone that was thankfully empty. The officer, 36-year-old Taras Karabelas, likely owes his life to the metal and Plexiglas partition that seperates the front seat from the rear, CBS Local reports.

 

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