A shocking explosion rocked the town of Arlington Heights as a garbage truck blew up on Friday evening, scattering debris and causing injuries. According to NBC Chicago, the incident occurred around 4 p.m. near the intersection of Euclid and Derbyshire Avenues. In a scene captured by a doorbell camera, a cloud of smoke and flames erupted into the sky accompanied by a massive boom.
The blast resulted in injuries to two police officers and a firefighter, who were near the explosion when it happened. They sustained a concussion due to the flying debris and were promptly taken to a hospital bearing non-life-threatening injuries, as per NBC Chicago. The pieces from the exploded vehicle were found scattered over several blocks, and the force of the shockwave caused considerable damage to nearby homes, officials reported.
Residents in the area were left in shock as the powerful detonation destabilized their sense of security. Paul Duchek, living just 200 feet away from the blast site, recounted to ABC 7 Chicago, "I walked to the side of the house and was actually sitting there, and I said, 'oh, there's some smoke over there,'" said Duchek. "All of a sudden, boom. It just, it just came upon us." His wife Sue Duchek described being forced to drop and lose phone contact with a client in the midst of the chaos.
The exact cause of the incident remains unclear, but according to Groot's website, many of their trucks operate on compressed natural gas. Investigators believe that one of these gas tanks may have exploded. No additional details are available at this time as the investigation is ongoing, ABC 7 Chicago reported.
