Female driver claims a Samsung Galaxy phone caught fire in her cup holder, destroyed her car while driving in Michigan

'I thought I was going to die:' Woman says Samsung phone caught fire, destroyed car

By:
WFLA Web Staff



June 09, 2018


DETROIT, Mich. (WFLA) - 

A Michigan woman claims thought she was going to die when her cell phone sparked a blaze that destroyed her car.

The woman, who choose not to be identified, said she was driving her car when one of two cell phones sitting in her cup holder caught fire.

“A Samsung Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S8. I thought I was going to die when I saw the sparks and the fire,” the woman told WXYZ.

She pulled over her Nissan Maxima before the flames completely engulfed her car.

“It happened quick. It just went up in flames. People were telling me to get away from the car. What if I was on the highway, stuck in traffic and couldn’t get out,” she said.

Fire investigators suspect the fire was started by a cell phone. According to reports, more than 100 Samsun phones have spontaneously bursts into flames, with some being banned from airplanes.

Samsung recalled 1 million of the the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones sold and stopped all sales and shipments of the Note 7, but the woman's lawyer said neither of the two phones owned by his client was on the recall list.

“We’ve contacted Samsung. They’ve been very responsible and sent a crew to examine the car and portions of the phone. Once it’s determined which of the phones and that one is recalled, it will probably save lives,” he said.

A Samsung representative told WXYZ they won't comment on pending litigation, but they “stand behind the safety of the millions of Samsung phones in the United States.”

It's still unclear if the woman plans to file a lawsuit.

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Woman says cellphone burst into flames, destroyed car while she was driving


Posted on June 10, 2018 by ABC News


WXYZ via ABCNews.com(DETROIT) — All that remains of a Michigan woman’s Nissan Maxima is a burnt out hulk after she says one of her cellphones burst into flames while she was driving. Her car is totaled, but the woman says she was just lucky to escape with her life.

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, spoke to Detroit ABC affiliate WXYZ Friday after her car caught fire and burned. She now says she is considering a lawsuit.

She was driving on Evergreen Avenue in downtown Detroit on May 21 and said she had a Samsung Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S8 in her cupholder when she saw a spark and one of the phones caught fire.

“I thought I was going to die when I saw the sparks and the fire,” she told WXYZ.

“It happened quickly. It just went up in flames. People were telling me to get away from the car. What if I was on the highway stuck in traffic and couldn’t get out?” she added.

The woman pulled over to the side of the road and got out of her car. It was quickly engulfed in flames.

The Detroit Fire Department confirmed to WXYZ they responded to the fire.

Samsung has had problems with phones bursting into flames, but neither the Galaxy S4 or S8 are on recall lists. The phone maker says it is investigating the incident.

“We stand behind the quality and safety of the millions of Samsung phones in the U.S.,” Samsung said in a statement to WXYZ. “We are eager to conduct a full investigation of this matter and until we are able to examine all of the evidence, it is impossible to determine the true cause of any incident.”

Samsung dealt with major fallout from one of its phones overheating in late 2016.

The Galaxy Note7 had problems overheating and bursting into flames shortly after it was released in August 2016. It officially issued a recall the following month, and then halted production in October 2016. The Federal Aviation Administration banned the Note7 from flights in October 2016, as well.

A lawyer for the woman whose car burst into flames says they reached out to Samsung and may file a lawsuit, though none has been filed yet. The woman’s lawyer, Gerald Thurswell, said he expects a recall once an investigation is complete.

“We’ve contacted Samsung. They’ve been very responsible and sent a crew to examine the car and portions of the phone,” Thurswell told WXYZ. “Once it’s determined which of the phones [caught fire] and that one is recalled, we’ll probably save lives.”

Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

A worker died when he was struck and pinned by a branch from a tree he was trimming in Annapolis, Maryland

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — 

Authorities say a worker died while trimming a tree in Maryland.

Anne Arundel County Fire spokesman Lt. Erik Kornmeyer tells news outlets that the man was struck and pinned by a branch on Sunday afternoon. Kornmeyer said it took a special operations unit around an hour to remove the deceased man, who was still harnessed 8 feet (2.4 meters) up in the tree.

County police and Maryland Occupational Safety and Health will investigate the circumstances of his death.

The man has not been identified.

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Worker dies while trimming tree in Annapolis 

Selene San Felice


ANNAPOLIS, MD
 
A worker died when he was struck and pinned by a branch from a tree he was trimming in Annapolis, Anne Arundel County Fire spokesman Lt. Erik Kornmeyer said Sunday.

Fire and police were called at 3:35 p.m. to the 100 block of Sunset Drive to find the man who was still harnessed 8 feet up in the tree after he died from his injuries, Kornmeyer said.

About an hour later, the special operations unit removed the unnamed man from the tree.

County police and the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health will be investigating the circumstances of the death, Kornmeyer said.

Andy Loller, 42, a Weatherford, Texas firefighter, died while battling a grass fire in the Davis Mountains in West Texas on Sunday

Weatherford firefighter dies after battling grass fire in West Texas


By Prescotte Stokes III

pstokes@star-telegram.com

June 10, 2018 10:48 PM

Weatherford



A firefighter died from injuries he sustained while battling a grass fire in the Davis Mountains in West Texas on Sunday, according to fire officials in Weatherford.

Andy Loller, 42, a Weatherford firefighter, was deployed to assist firefighters across the state at the Scenic Loop Complex in Jeff Davis County, Weatherford Fire Marshal Bob Hopkins said.

Hopkins said Loller suffered a medical emergency and was flown by helicopter to receive medical treatment. He was stabilized before being placed on a medical airplance, but passed away en route to an Odessa hospital, Hopkins said.


As of June 5, seven wildfires in the Scenic Loop Complex were still active and 18 total have been reported, according to data from the Texas A&M Forest Service.

Local fire departments in the Dallas-Fort Worth area took to social media to express their condolences.

Loller was a 13-year veteran in Weatherford and was assigned to Station 36 on the A-Shift. His death came as a shock, Hopkins said.

"He was physically fit. A wonderful man and dad. He took care of his body and ate well. It's just really sad," he said.

An autopsy will be performed Monday to determine the cause of death, Hopkins added.

Loller is survived by his wife, two children and one sister, Hopkins said.
=============================

• Works at Weatherford Fire Department
• Studied at Weatherford College
• Lives in Weatherford, Texas
• Married to Debra Loller
• From Winnsboro, Texas

Day 6: Crews Continue to Fight Scenic Loop Complex Fires in Davis Mountains
Posted on June 9, 2018
 
By Friday, fire officials said two of the six Scenic Loop Complex fires were 100 percent contained. (Photo by Marc Mullis)

By Saturday morning, two Scenic Loop Complex fires were 100 percent contained while other fires had spread across more acres in the Davis Mountains area.

The Scenic Loop Complex fires — which began on June 3 when a lightning storm sparked 18 fires in Jeff Davis County — have blazed for six days straight and affected more than 23,000 acres by Friday night. The Type I Incident Blue Team, a federal response group, has taken command of the fire operations, which has seen multiple fire crews and more than 250 responders from across the country.



The Jones/Phillips and Brooks fires have been 100 percent contained, according to fire officials. Together, the two fires had spread across 1,355.5 acres in the Davis Mountains area. In an operations update, Fort Davis Fire Department’s Jim Fowler said these fires won’t have any crews on them as responders work to control other blazes currently spreading throughout the region.

Fire teams are now working to control the four remaining fires, three of which are currently spreading through the Nature Conservancy in the Davis Mountains. The Long X2, 48 Tank Loop and Windmill fires have affected roughly 12,700 acres of the conservancy. Rainstorms on Friday dropped a half-inch of water on the Long X2 fire. This weekend, Fowler says, crews “will be building and reinforcing the lines on the southwest and south side of the fire and down to the Windmill Fire.” Crews will also build lines on the Windmill and 48 Tank Fires.


Fire crews have set up camp near the area in order to respond quickly to the three fires. The Preserve has been closed to all traffic unrelated to the fires.

On Friday, the Bear Mountain fire still had some active burning, but Fowler says it may have “settled down” overnight.

Fire officials say subdivisions in the region, like the Crow’s Nest and the Davis Mountains Resort, are not threatened by the fires.

Terry Krasko is with the federal response group. He says the Scenic Loop Complex fires acreage affected may grow, not because the fire is spreading, but because they response team will have completed mapping the Scenic Loop Complex’s range.

Among other response tools, crews have been making use of 4 single engine air tankers (SEATs). Krasko says these units can go into “extremely small places” where bigger tankers aren’t able to reach. He says, night time operations are in place to help control the fire.

Bald tires on a wet, slick roadway was the cause of a head-on collision that killed soccer player Maribel Enriquez, 17, Preben Hammer, 71, and his wife, Alice, near Spicewood, Texas

• Center forward at Professional Soccer
• Works at The Krusty Krab
• Worked at Finn And Jake
• Studied at I.U.P Santiago Mariño
• Went to Marble Falls Middle School
• Lives in Texas City, Texas
• In a relationship
• From Marble Falls, Texas

9:30 p.m. update: The Texas Department of Public Safety has revealed the cause of a two-vehicle crash near Spicewood that left three people dead Saturday afternoon: bald tires on a wet, slick roadway.

Maribel Enriquez, 17, was driving a Ford Mustang on a wet stretch of Texas 71 — accompanied by her brother Jose Ornelas, 31 — when the car’s worn rear tires caused Enriquez to lose control of her vehicle, DPS said. The Mustang slid across multiple lanes of traffic before colliding with a Mercedes-Benz, which was carrying four people.


Enriquez was taken to St. David’s Medical Center where she later died. Ornelas was taken to St. David’s South Austin Medical Center where he is in critical condition, DPS said.

Preben Hammer, 71, was pronounced dead at the scene, and his wife, Alice, died at St. David’s Medical Center. Susan Stein, 78, was a passenger in the Mercedes-Benz and was taken to Dell Seton Medical Center, where she was in critical condition. Another passenger was not transported to the hospital, DPS officials said.

Troopers have not filed any charges related to the accident.

Earlier: A fatal crash on Texas 71 on Saturday afternoon near Spicewood that killed three people happened when a Mercedes vehicle struck a Ford Mustang on the driver’s side, according to a spokesman with the Pedernales Fire Department.

A woman in the Mustang died after being transported to Dell Seton Medical Center, and a man who was in the Mustang is in critical condition, Pedernales Fire Department spokesman Justin O’Baugh said Sunday. Both passengers were in their 20s.

Four people were in the Mercedes. A man in his 70s died at the scene, and a woman in her 60s died later at St. David’s South Austin Medical Center. A woman in her 70s and a man in his 80s were taken to Dell Seton Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, Austin-Travis County EMS said Saturday.

The crash happened at 4:48 p.m. on Texas 71 between Fall Creek Road and Fall Creek Estates Drive, O’Baugh said, with the Mercedes colliding with the Mustang in a T-bone-style crash. O’Baugh noted that it was raining when the crash happened, although it’s unclear if the rain was a factor in the crash.

Although safety improvements such as added lanes have been made over time to parts of Texas 71 west of the city, O’Baugh said the crash marked another fatal incident along what continues to be a deadly stretch of road. Both last year and this year, crashes on or near Texas 71 have claimed the lives of multiple people, including a crash in April 2017 that killed three female teenagers and involved a bus chartered by Huston-Tillotson University. A traffic fatality this January happened when a man driving a vehicle lost control of it on an icy bridge along the route.

“I couldn’t count the number of fatal wrecks on that road,” O’Baugh said. “As far as why — a lot of things that include driver error and driving conditions. That stretch of road seems like the deadliest stretch of road that we have in our district.”

Austin-area DPS officials said Sunday they were still investigating the incident.

===============================

Posted: 5:18 p.m. Sunday, June 10, 2018

Despite improvements in the past decade to Texas 71 west of Austin, deadly crashes continue to occur on the highway.

The most recent was a two-vehicle crash Saturday afternoon near Spicewood that killed three people and left three critically injured. The wreck occurred when a Mercedes struck a Ford Mustang on the driver’s side, according to the Pedernales Fire Department.

A woman in the Mustang died after being taken to Dell Seton Medical Center, and a man in the Mustang was in critical condition, Justin O’Baugh, a spokesman for the Pedernales Fire Department, said Sunday. Both passengers were in their 20s.

Four people were in the Mercedes. A man in his 70s died at the scene, and a woman in her 60s died at St. David’s South Austin Medical Center. A woman in her 70s and a man in his 80s were taken to Dell Seton Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services officials said Saturday.

Austin-area Department of Public Safety officials said Sunday that they were continuing to investigate the accident, and the identities of the victims had not been released by Sunday evening.

The crash happened at 4:48 p.m. on Texas 71 between Fall Creek Road and Fall Creek Estates Drive, O’Baugh said. He noted that it was raining when the crash happened but said it was unclear if weather was a factor.

In the past 10 years, improvements have been made to parts of Texas 71 between Austin and Spicewood, such as the widening of lanes and the creation of wider shoulders.

Still, this portion of the highway, with no median, continues to be a deadly stretch, O’Baugh said.

Last year and this year, crashes on or near Texas 71 west of Austin have claimed the lives of several people, including a wreck in April 2017 that killed three female teenagers and involved a bus chartered by Huston-Tillotson University. In January, a fatal accident happened when a man lost control of his vehicle on an icy bridge along the route.

“I couldn’t count the number of fatal wrecks on that road,” O’Baugh said Sunday. “As far as why — a lot of things that include driver error and driving conditions. That stretch of road seems like the deadliest stretch of road that we have in our district.”

A resident of the area, 53-year-old Kathleen Henderson, said crashes on the highway “seem to happen every other week.”

Frank Davis, 55, who owns the nearby Great Taste of Texas farm, said parts of the highway can be perilous because of a lack of a center turn lane. Vehicles turning left into homes or businesses have to stop in the middle of the highway, he said.

“It’s horrible,” Davis said. “All of the neighbors have expressed concern. Something needs to be done because the amount of people killed is just tremendous.”
==============================

Improper passing by the dead Honda Civic driver Robert Howard, 31, is believed to be the cause of the head-on collision with a Ford Explorer that killed Barbara Allen, 73, Kevin Clark, 29, and Davin Clark, 7.

Kevin Clark, 29, dead, head-on collision in Maine

Improper passing by the dead Honda Civic driver Robert Howard, 31, is believed to be the cause of the head-on collision

Improper passing by the dead Honda Civic driver Robert Howard, 31, is believed to be the cause of the head-on collision

Improper passing by the dead Honda Civic driver Robert Howard, 31, is believed to be the cause of the head-on collision

BERWICK, Maine -- 

Berwick Police on Sunday evening released the names of those killed and injured in a head-on motor-vehicle crash on Route 4 in Berwick on Saturday afternoon.

Improper passing is believed to be the cause of the crash, according to police.

Four people were killed and four others were taken to area hospitals with injuries.

According to Berwick police, the two-car crash happened at about 1:30 p.m. Saturday, when a 1994 Honda Civic, driven by Robert Howard, 31, of Buxton, lost control following an improper pass. The Honda slid into the path of a 2014 Ford Explorer, driven by Hope Stamps, 46, of Woburn, Massachusetts, and the two vehicles collided.

Three passengers in the Honda, including the driver, were declared dead on scene: Robert Howard, Kevin Clark, 29, of North Berwick, and Davin Clark, 7, of North Berwick.

A passenger in the Ford, Barbara Allen, 73, of Wells, was declared dead at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, New Hampshire.

A fourth occupant in the Honda, K-La Scott, 22, of Gorham, suffered serious, but not life-threatening injuries, according to police.

In the Ford, the driver, Hope Stamps, and the passengers, Eurie Stamps, 49, and Shannon Stamps, 17, all of Woburn, Massachusetts, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Berwick Police Department, Maine Warden Service, Berwick Fire Department, South Berwick Fire Department, Somersworth Fire Department, American Ambulance, North Berwick Rescue, York Ambulance, and Dover Fire and Rescue all responded to the accident scene, according Berwick police.

The crash remains under investigation. Anyone with information about the accident is encouraged to contact Sgt. Jeffrey Pilkington (j.pilkington@berwickpd.org) or Detective Wilfred Vachon (w.vachon@berwickpd.org) at the Berwick Police Department, or call (207) 698-1136.



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BERWICK, ME (WGME) -- 

The investigation into Saturday's horrific accident in Berwick where four people died and four others were injured continues Sunday.

Berwick Police have identified those killed, as well as the expected cause of the accident.

Around 1:30 p.m. Saturday, the two-car crash happened on Portland Street, or Route 4, when 31-year-old Robert Howard of Buxton lost control of his car while attempting to "improper pass" and slid into the path of another vehicle, driven by 46-year-old Hope Stamps from Woburn, Mass.

Howard, and two male passengers, 29 year old Kevin Clark of North Berwick, and 7 year old Davin Clark of North Berwick died at the scene.

73-year-old Barbara Allen of Wells, a passenger in Stamps' vehicle, died at a hospital in Dover, NH. Hope Stamps suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Three others were taken to area hospitals with non-life threatening injuries, including 22-year-old K-La Scott of Gorham, who was in Howard's car, and two passengers in Stamps' car, including 49-year-old Eurie Stamps and 16-year-old Shannon Stamps, both of Woburn.

Several area police and fire departments responded to the accident, which closed Route 4 for several hours on Sunday.

The accident remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asking to contact Sgt. Jeffrey Pilkington or Det. Wilfred Vachon at (207) 698-1136 or by email at j.pilkington@berwickpd.org or w.vachon@berwickpd.org.