CERES, Calif. (WHDH) — A surveillance camera captured the intense moment a car with two young children in the back seat slammed into a gas pump, causing it to burst into flames in Ceres, California on Sunday.
Video of the crash shows the car speeding off Highway 99 before barreling into the gas pump and going airborne.
The gas pump got knocked onto its side and immediately burst into flames next to the car.
People who were pumping gas at nearby pumps could be seen running away to safety.
Service technician Adrian Rodriguez says that things could have turned out much worse if it weren’t for the gas pump’s safety mechanisms.
“With these working, and they did their job, people were saved,” he said.
The driver of the car, identified as 23-year-old Isabel Zepeda, had a 4-year-old and a 5-year-old in the back seat at the time of the crash, according to Calif. Highway Patrol.
The children are said to be doing OK.
Zepeada is facing charges of driving under the influence and child endangerment.
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