Doon, Iowa — An explosion in a vehicle near Doon has caused the hospitalization of a woman and child.
According to Lyon County Sheriff Stewart Vander Stoep, initial reports are that a car was traveling down the road, four miles west and a half-mile south of Doon, about 5:30 p.m. on Monday, when for an unknown reason, it exploded. The sheriff says it devastated the car and burned the woman driving it and a passenger, who is thought to have been a four-year-old girl.
Vander Stoep says he was told that the two were flown to a burn unit in Minneapolis. He says first reports were that the woman was burned on 70 percent of her body, but later reports indicated 30 to 50 percent. According to the Sheriff, he’s been told that initial reports were that the burns are not life-threatening.
The sheriff tells us that they believe there was a can of gas somewhere in the vehicle, but it’s not known if it was in the passenger compartment or the trunk of the vehicle. At this point, they are thinking that something ignited gasoline fumes. He says they also don’t know what ignited the explosion. According to Vander Stoep, they’re trying to find out if it was a match, a cigarette lighter, or exactly what happened. He says it’s been difficult to discover much information, and they probably won’t know for sure what happened until they can talk to the driver. He says it’s been “kinda confusing.”
The incident remains under investigation by the Doon Fire Department and the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office.
