It’s believed the fire was caused by a faulty catalytic converter
A wedding guest had to make a sharp exit from her chauffeur driven limo earlier this month after the white stretch limousine she was travelling in burst into flames.
66-year-old Margaret Lupi was making the one hour long trip to a wedding from her home in Verona, New Jersey USA when the fire broke out. A few minutes into the journey, Ms Lupi realised something was wrong as the heat inside the white limousine was unbearable.
The driver noticed flames coming out from the foot well so he pulled over, and helped the passenger out and onto the side of the road. Within minutes the limo was engulfed by flames. By the time the emergency services arrived, the fire had spread to a nearby telephone pole.
The fire fighters were quick to act and succeeded in extinguishing the fire within 2 minutes. Initially the fire team were unable to determine the cause of the blaze due to the extent of the damage caused. The limo was completely destroyed by the flames.
After further inspection, it is believed that the fire may have been caused by a faulty catalytic converter as the flames had burned a hole right through the point where this device was placed.
The owner of the limo said the vehicle had passed its vehicle inspection test just a few months earlier. The limo hire boss added that he’d never encountered anything similar to this accident in his 27-years in the industry.
