VIDEOS: A newly-released crash report offers more insight into how a driver sparked a massive and pungent fire at a Memphis wastewater treatment plant on Thanksgiving night. According to the crash report, a 55-year-old man accidentally drove his car into a wastewater pit at the Maynard C. Stiles wastewater treatment plant Thursday evening around sundown. He told police that he was trying to turn around when he accidentally backed up onto a tarp that was covering a wastewater pit, causing his Chevrolet Express to become stuck.
He told officers that he then took out a cigarette and attempted to light it, but unintentionally sparked a fire that became fueled by the fumes from his truck and the methane from the waste. A spokesperson for the fire department previously said that firefighters had to wade in the wastewater to rescue the driver, but the crash report states that it was witnesses who jumped in to help.
The driver was sent to the hospital in non-critical condition for treatment due to burns on his hands. Firefighters successfully contained the blaze to the pit before extinguishing it.
The driver told Memphis police that he had two alcoholic drinks before the incident. Officers noted that his breath smelled of alcohol when he spoke.
A DUI incident report was filed; however, DUI investigators at the hospital determined that the driver was not intoxicated.
WMC-TV NBC 5 Memphis
