Several news sources are reporting that an Arkansas doctor in the town of West Memphis who is the Chairman of the Arkansas Medical Board has been life-flighted to a hospital in critical condition after his Lexus RX 400h hybrid SUV exploded.
>>UPDATE #1 2/4/2009 12:15 pm PST: CNN is now reporting that a bomb WAS found. It appears that police have changed their story. We’ll see how this plays out…
>>UPDATE #2 2/4/2009 2:30 pm PST: Local and federal officials are urging anyone with information to contact law enforcement agencies. The ATF tip line is 888-ATF-BOMB.
>>UPDATE #3 2/5/2009 8:00 am PST: Dr. Trent Pierce has lost his left eye in the blast and is undergoing multiple surgeries to save his right eye as well as remove shrapnel from his neck and abdomen. Investigators are still not sure if the bomb was placed on or near Dr. Pierce’s car. Apparently, the doctor was outside his car when the blast occurred.
Initially a local bomb squad was called in to investigate, but was sent away after no bomb was found. At the time, speculation revolved around a malfunction with the car itself. Since that time, the FBI and ATF have found evidence of explosives. There are no current leads in the case and no one can come up with a reason why a doctor in a smallish town may have been the target of an attack like this.
Apparently, the explosion was felt a mile away from the blast, which occurred in the driveway of Dr. Trent Pierce‘s home. Footage from the scene shows the hood blown off the front of the Lexus. Besides the doctor, another person was injured in the blast as well.
As has been pointed out here before, while more and more of these alternative vehicles come on the scene, emergency responders have a new beast to deal with. High voltage mixed with explosive liquids certainly provides the setting for potentially horrifying situations. While the investigators take time to sort all this out, I’m left wondering if the person who placed the bomb tried to use the high voltage in the car to increase the power of the explosion or hoped that the explosion would look like a malfunctioning hybrid?
[Editor's note: the following paragraphs were written on the morning of 2/4/2009, when it seemed that a bomb had been ruled out as a cause. They are being left here for historical reference and completeness]
In the meantime, you can expect that the internet will be abuzz with rampant speculation. For sure, some will take the opportunity to say “See, told you so, you environmentalists are pushing new technology through before it is safe enough for public consumption,” and some will say “It’s only one car among hundreds of thousands of hybrids that have worked just fine. That’s a pretty good track record.”
All I can say is I’m not going to make any judgment until all facts are in. However, if this does turn out to be a problem related to the hybrid system itself, not only will Toyota/Lexus’ reputation take a major beating, you can bet that shockwaves will ripple through the entire conventional hybrid and plug-in hybrid industry.
At a time when the likes of GM are hanging their future on the plug-in hybrid, this would be a major development indeed.
THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY. UPDATES AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE…
Sources: as listed in the post
Image Credit: Lexus
PDF 
I think these kind of issues are going to become more common in the future. Even with all electric vehicles, the batteries and electricity will have to be understood and dealt with by first responders. All gas vehicles have certainly been known to explode and people take that as a given. It’s all part of developing new technology which we obviously need. Just think of the safety concerns with hydrogen fuel.
I think these kind of issues are going to become more common in the future. Even with all electric vehicles, the batteries and electricity will have to be understood and dealt with by first responders. All gas vehicles have certainly been known to explode and people take that as a given. It’s all part of developing new technology which we obviously need. Just think of the safety concerns with hydrogen fuel.
Was this a after market conversion or a factory built hybrid?
Was this a after market conversion or a factory built hybrid?
RX 400h is a factory built hybrid system.
Interesting CNN.com is reporting there was a bomb found and the local police chief is calling this a “terrorist attack”.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/04/doctor.car.blast/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
RX 400h is a factory built hybrid system.
Interesting CNN.com is reporting there was a bomb found and the local police chief is calling this a “terrorist attack”.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/04/doctor.car.blast/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
Doug,
Without having the complete story I can’t say for sure, but based on the fact that Lexus makes hybrids, and I’ve never heard of a Lexus hybrid conversion from a conventional car, and that the pictures from the scene clearly show a Lexus RX 400, I’d say it’s a 99.99% probability that it was a factory built Lexus RX 400h hybrid.
They found evidence of a bomb. Which is why the ATF has fomerly taken over the investigation and the FBI is assisting. They believe it was an intentional act and had nothing to do with it being a hybrid.
They found evidence of a bomb. Which is why the ATF has fomerly taken over the investigation and the FBI is assisting. They believe it was an intentional act and had nothing to do with it being a hybrid.
Hybrid high voltage cables are not located anywhere near zones which can cause an explosion
Making stuff up to titillate your audience is very bad form.
Hybrid high voltage cables are not located anywhere near zones which can cause an explosion
Making stuff up to titillate your audience is very bad form.
Bob,
Why the hell do you assume I made stuff up to titillate you? I made nothing up. The police did originally report that no bomb was found and no foul play was evident and that initial speculation was that the hybrid system had somehow malfunctioned.
Now that new information has come out, I’ve updated the post.
Give me a break dude.
In fact, far from titillating my audience, as you suggest, I believe I was very careful to not make assumptions in my article.
Go bark up another tree.
Wow wonder what this guy did to make some one blow him up? Of course this is Arkansas he could have pissed off the Clinton’s. That is a good as signing your own death warrant.
Wow wonder what this guy did to make some one blow him up? Of course this is Arkansas he could have pissed off the Clinton’s. That is a good as signing your own death warrant.
@Bob -
There was initial confusion in the first reports as to what caused the explosion and the main theory until the ATF showed up was that it was a mechanical/electrical failure. It wasn’t until the ATF investigated the vehicle that they determined an explosive was used. He wasn’t titillating, he was speculating based on the available news.
@Bob -
There was initial confusion in the first reports as to what caused the explosion and the main theory until the ATF showed up was that it was a mechanical/electrical failure. It wasn’t until the ATF investigated the vehicle that they determined an explosive was used. He wasn’t titillating, he was speculating based on the available news.
Why couldn’t this blog-post/article just have stated “Lexus” or “personal vehicle” instead of “Lexus Hybrid.” That to me is sensationalism & titillating as stated above.
Alas, it’s the inter-webz! Real serious business. . .
Why couldn’t this blog-post/article just have stated “Lexus” or “personal vehicle” instead of “Lexus Hybrid.” That to me is sensationalism & titillating as stated above.
Alas, it’s the inter-webz! Real serious business. . .
Dawn Juan,
At the time I wrote the title, the hybrid part of it was being reported as significant. As this is a blog about the future of transportation and hybrids are part of that future, it should be apparent why I included that in the title. It was not meant to be titillating.
I’m beginning to sense that I’ll be repeating myself over and over again in the comment section. Oh well. C’est la vie.
He was outside the vehicle looking at the exposed hood, presumably because there was something wrong with the car. If you want high-res pictures from the local news source where I work visit my site.
http://shutupandlistenpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/hyrbid2.jpg
http://shutupandlistenpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/hyrbid.jpg
http://shutupandlistenpodcast.com/justins-comics/hybrid-lexus-explodes-in-west-memphis-ar-fbi-investigates/
He was outside the vehicle looking at the exposed hood, presumably because there was something wrong with the car. If you want high-res pictures from the local news source where I work visit my site.
http://shutupandlistenpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/hyrbid2.jpg
http://shutupandlistenpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/hyrbid.jpg
http://shutupandlistenpodcast.com/justins-comics/hybrid-lexus-explodes-in-west-memphis-ar-fbi-investigates/