A 30-year-old man died after an explosion inside his vehicle last week in the Chief Garry Park Neighborhood.
Matthew Woodford's cause and manner of death are pending, according to the Spokane County Medical Examiner's Office.
Spokane fire and police personnel responded about 1 p.m. Sept. 17 to the explosion at East Sharp Avenue and North Lee Street, according to Spokane police Officer Tricia Leming, spokeswoman for the department.
Firefighters located Woodford, the driver, in the car. He was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries and later died.
Investigators believe Woodford dropped a torch behind a seat with the torch valve still open and the wiring under the seat caught on fire. The "proper gas-oxygen ratio" inside the car caused the explosion, Leming said. Investigators believe it was an accident.
Investigators found fire damage under the front passenger seat and smoke damage to the interior of the car. Woodford was the only one in the car at the time.
At some point prior to the explosion, Woodford struck a parked car and exchanged information with the owner of that car, Leming said. Woodford then continued driving about a half block and pulled over to the intersection of Sharp and Lee where the explosion happened.
Leming said police were not called to the minor crash, and she was unsure how much time elapsed from the crash with the parked car to the explosion.
Spokane Fire Department spokesman Justin de Ruyter said the crash did not cause the explosion.
He said the fire department is investigating.
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