Rainbow Bridge Explosion

[yosimitesam]

Am I missing something here?

Automobiles simply do not explode like that in a collision.

Also, from what I gather, the vehicle intentionally rammed one of the booths?

Under the right conditions gasoline vapors will definitely "detonate" rather than "deflagrate" (burn). Indeed, gasoline vapor detonation in engine cylinders, called knock, was a real problem for decades and only avoided by lowering the compression or upping the fuel "octane" rating. If the gas tank on the crashed vehicle was somewhat symetrically-compressed (violently) at the impact, the gasoline vapors in it could easily detonate. Detonations create hyper-sonic shockwaves that have a "shattering" effect and the follwing pressure wave will hurl fractured pieces at large velocities. It's the same reason high explosives shatter rock easily which, of course, makes them very usefull in mining, road construction, tunneling, etc. Even "low explosives" (gun powder and the like) can be made to detonate under the right conditions. This would explain both the lack of explosives residue and spectacular nature of the event. Just a theory.

 

[GrauGeist]

Under the right conditions gasoline vapors will definitely "detonate" rather than "deflagrate" (burn). Indeed, gasoline vapor detonation in engine cylinders, called knock, was a real problem for decades and only avoided by lowering the compression or upping the fuel "octane" rating. If the gas tank on the crashed vehicle was somewhat symetrically-compressed (violently) at the impact, the gasoline vapors in it could easily detonate. Detonations create hyper-sonic shockwaves that have a "shattering" effect and the follwing pressure wave will hurl fractured pieces at large velocities. It's the same reason high explosives shatter rock easily which, of course, makes them very usefull in mining, road construction, tunneling, etc. Even "low explosives" (gun powder and the like) can be made to detonate under the right conditions. This would explain both the lack of explosives residue and spectacular nature of the event. Just a theory.

I drove a tow truck for over eight years on night shift call rotation in a metropolitan area in the 1980's as well as being an ASE Master technician for 40 years.

I'm fairly well versed in seeing just about every violent, fatal, high speed collision scenario there is as well as having a deep understanding about agitated fuel ignition...