While it can be fun to watch on screen, car crashes don't typically result in a massive explosion like they do in the movies. Instead, reality is usually much more boring, even if actual wrecks are still incredibly annoying to deal with. Every now and then, though, someone screws up behind the wheel in exactly the right way, and you get a movie-inspired explosion. That was the case Saturday night when a three-car crash in Herriman, Utah, ended with an exploding Domino's pizza restaurant, CBS News reports.
Thankfully, despite the explosion, everyone involved also managed to make it out without any explosion-related injuries. That said, the wreck that caused the explosion was bad enough that several people involved in the crash were taken to the hospital for treatment. No deaths have been reported, however, so hopefully, they recover from their injuries quickly.
Currently it isn't clear what caused the initial crash, but we do know three vehicles were involved and that one of them was an SUV that ended up hitting a commercial building that contained a Domino's, Jimmy John's and a Supercuts. The explosion reportedly destroyed the Domino's and "caused significant damage" to the other two businesses. According to local authorities, no one was inside the building when it exploded, which likely saved their lives.
While details on the crash are still scarce, the SUV that hit the building reportedly burst into flames after the crash. The collision with the building also reportedly cracked open a gas line that exploded when the gas came into contact with the flames from the burning SUV. But though no one was hurt by the explosion, that could have easily been different if it weren't for the two bystanders who Utah's United Fire Authority says "risked their lives to rescue the driver and passenger from the burning vehicle just moments before it was engulfed in flames."
Without their bold actions, it seems unlikely that either the driver or passenger would have survived, because, as you can see in the post embedded above, this was no minor explosion. Putting it out required more than 60 firefighters from Unified Fire Authority, South Jordan, West Jordan, West Valley City, Sandy, and Draper. Despite the explosion and the massive fire that ensued, there are currently no reports of any injuries sustained by emergency crews as they fought to put out the blaze.
We don't know how fast the SUV driver was going before the crash, but consider this another reminder that driving really is a dangerous activity and not something to be taken lightly. Whether you're playing with your phone or adjusting something on the infotainment screen, taking your eyes off the road is a recipe for disaster. Most crashes won't end in a building-destroying explosion, but if you let yourself get distracted while driving, you never know who you could hurt or what you might blow up.