Matt & Sara Mason

January 2000--Sara and I were traveling from Sioux Falls to our place in Crystal Lake. Since we had left on friday and went west, Sara met me in Rockford and we left her car at a hotel near I-90 and went to SD. We came back on Monday after moving a freaking huge couch and other stuff as our friends who were in Sioux Falls were moving out the next day--a fact nobody knew until saturday while we were there. Sara and I were tired and sore and a little cranky. It was a long trip. My back hurt a ton and Sara was just plain tired. We got back to rockford at about 7:30 and that weas when the fun started.

Sara got into her car left for home. I needed to get gas so I got some before getting back on 90. I had now been driving for nearly 8 hours when I was just 2 miles from the turn off of 90 to our apartment. My headlights and dash lights all of a sudden got dimmer. The battery light came on and weird noises were coming from the engine. I still had power so I decided to try to make it off 90, at least. Other lights had come on in the 2 miles to the exit, but I had made it there. Right after I went through the exit toll, the engine cut out. It came back on, but then cut out again. I pulled off on the exit and saw smoke coming from under the hood. I popped the hood and saw flame on the sound damper material and a little flame on the left side of the engine. I decided to try to put it out, but when I got back to the front of the car, the flame had spread and was now bigger, and I did not want to mess with it.

Right then a car with 2 ladies in it stopped and asked if I needed to call anybody. They called the police and I tried to call Sara's cell phone (which was turned off) and our apartment. I left a message for Sara that said my car was on fire at 90 and Randal road. I waited in the car with the ladies as it was cold out and my coat was in the backseat of my car. The police finally came after like 10-15 mintues, then the fire truck came. But by the time they came, the small fire had completely engulfed the front end of my car. It was the coolest fire I had ever seen in person (the brush pile fires at camp were a close second). When it was mostly put out the firefighters decided to smack the hood with axes. Even though the car was a melted goo, it still hurt to watch them swing away.

Sara came a little after the firemen got there. She wasn't alarmed until she saw what happened as my mesasge was very calm.

In the end, the front tired were melted (3 months old), half the windsheild was broken and melted, the engine and hood destroyed, and dashboard melted. The front and rear seats were fine except for the smoke and water damage. It was totaled.

I got home at 9:45 and was stranded from work for 2 days. Monday was quite the long day, eh?

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