Car Falls Nine Stories In Downtown Miami Parking Garage, Bursts Into Flames

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A car burst into flames inside a Downtown Miami parking garage after falling nine stories.

The building is located at 100 Biscayne Boulevard.

It is a standalone parking garage that utilizes vehicle elevators to take cars up to parking spaces. It is run by parking attendants, so drivers don't have access to their cars once they're taken away.

Authorities responded to initial reports of a vehicle on fire late Tuesday afternoon at the building.

According to Miami Fire Rescue, for unknown reasons a vehicle inside the garage went through a safety gate and fell approximately nine floors to the bottom of the elevator shaft, where it ignited into flames.

The vehicle was not occupied when it fell and fortunately there were no reported injuries.

Additionally, neighboring business were not affected.

The owner of the car, Matt Olechnowicz, has only been working at the building next door for a month, using the garage for around two weeks.

Police say the car was a manual transmission and it was in gear, though they aren't sure if it was in gear before the fall or if something happened afterwards.

Olechnowicz says he's had the car since 2005 and that there were no factory products on it, proud about all the work he had put into what he called his baby.

Police say the garage has been shut down and that people with vehicles in the garage could be forced to wait until Wednesday to get their cars.

Two of the four working elevators in the parking garage have been temporarily shut down.