Driver lost control of his JK Unlimited, rammed into a street sign, then hit a pole. He made it out alive, but his rig didn’t.
Jeep Wranglers can take a lot of abuse, whether that means stone chips, forest pinstripes, desert sand blasts, large rocks, or deep water. With a lift and a snorkel, they can survive even tougher conditions. They have their limits, though. The driver of a JK Unlimited recently ran right into them. It turns out Wranglers are allergic to fire.
According to NBC San Diego, “A man escaped a fiery crash Tuesday when his Jeep took out a utility pole in Escondido and then burst into flames.”
For some unknown reason, the 20-something male driver of the JKU lost control just before midnight on Tuesday, ran into a street sign, then knocked over a utility pole. The impact caused the Jeep to catch fire. The picture above shows what’s left of it, which is a battered and charred mess. Much of the front end guts look as if they burned up. Both front wheels are detached from the front axle, which is probably in terrible shape.
One of the rear fender flares was also jarred loose by the collision. The hood is completely ash grey and the windshield frame is bent. More than likely, the heat of the fire warped it. It’s hard to see the interior, but it’s difficult to imagine there’s much of it left. If the Jeep had its top on before, it certainly doesn’t now. Despite the hideous aftermath, the driver himself made it out of the crash with only minor injuries.
Local utility workers didn’t miss a beat. They blocked off traffic and erected a new utility pole after the accident. Pretty soon it will probably be hard to tell what happened there. We’re confident the Jeep driver’s insurance company will be happy to remind him.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
