Chicago man says his SUV caught fire from falling ComEd powerline
CHICAGO (CBS) – When a man in Jefferson Park looked out his window one day, he saw his car on fire.
He told CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot that a ComEd powerline was to blame.
In video he took, Wesam Abu-Sharkh's 2013 Ford Escape is visibly smoldering with a dangling powerline next to it.
"I just saw, through the window like, sound like exploding, like fireworks, and when I looked to the window, I saw my car like exploding because the wire dropped on my car," Abu-Sharkh said.
ComEd said crews responded immediately to repair the line and there were no outages in the area. The utility company said the powerline came down because of what it called tree intrusion. That's when branches grow into powerlines, which can cause the branches to break the lines.
Looking at the melted mess that remains of Abu-Sharkh's SUV, he said he always parks at this spot, when visiting a friend nearby. Sometimes he'll even sit in his car for up to an hour, texting with friends or watching a movie. He said he's grateful he wasn't doing that on Tuesday.
"Can you imagine if I was in my car and that happened?" he said. "That's gonna be terrible."
Abu-Sharkh has filed a claim with ComEd to be compensated. He was planning to drive to California the day after his car caught fire.
He said now, that trip will have to wait.
