Driver dies of burns after vehicle catches fire in Marka

AMMAN — A man was burned to death on Tuesday when the vehicle he was driving caught fire in northern Marka, east of Amman. Civil Defence Department (CDD) firefighting cadres rushed to the scene and extinguished the fire.

The body of the driver, who suffered third-degree burns, was taken to Bashir Hospital, according to a CDD statement on Tuesday.

The deceased driver was trapped in his car and could not open the doors of the vehicle to break out, President of the Jordanian Free Zones Association Mohammad Bustanji told The Jordan Times on Tuesday.

The reason for this is probably that the power door lock was exposed to electrical fault, he said, noting that the factors that led to the tragic accident were likely only related to this particular vehicle.

 “Nowadays, all vehicles, whether they are diesel or hybrid cars, use electrical systems, therefore there is no big difference except for hybrid vehicles’ use of batteries,” he said.

“Over the past six years, we have not received any complaints concerning manufacturer errors or design defects, but many of the problems we have dealt with were from poor maintenance of the battery,” a representative of a hybrid car service centre told The Jordan Times on Tuesday.

According to the representative, “incredibly dangerous” situations that they have confronted were caused by changing lead acid batteries into Lithium-ion ones. He also mentioned technical errors as another prime reason for increased risks on roads. 

“Vehicle owners should maintain their cars to prevent any mechanical or electrical failure, and even though cars these days are safer, errors still occur,” the representative said.