Blast rips through small New Jersey town after welder's vehicle explodes with flammable gas tank in trunk

By LAUREN ACTON-TAYLOR, US NEWS REPORTER Published: 01:50, 14 July 2026 | Updated: 01:57, 14 July 2026 A small town in New Jersey was rocked after a welder's car exploded, injuring one person and damaging a nearby home.  Pieces of the vehicle – parked in Totowa, New Jersey – flew across the street in the early hours of Monday morning after the car exploded at around 5.40am.  The 28-year-old driver had started his Audi, which had an acetylene tank in the trunk, moments before the blast.  Car parts were strewn across the street and had landed in a nearby home's lawn, crashing through windows.  The blast knocked out windows and cabinets as well as one neighbor's fence, photos showed.  Fire officials believe that the acetylene tank had leaked in the vehicle, leading to the explosion, ABC 7 reported.  The driver managed to pull himself out of the car and walk away, remaining alert and coherent, before he was transported to hospital.  Sheldon Blaine, a neighbor, told the outlet: 'We heard an explosion around 5.30 in the morning. It was very loud, it sounded like a giant boom, so that's the first thing to say.' Pieces of a vehicle parked in Totowa flew across the street in the early hours of Monday morning after a plumber's car exploded at around 5.40am The 28-year-old driver had started his Audi, which had an acetylene tank in the trunk, moments before the blast that sent pieces strewn across the streets and into houses nearby 'We got up and we looked out the window and we saw the remains of a car,' Blaine continued.  'And the car exploded, no fire, just a concussive blast. Our house, our windows was facing the explosion, they are all blown in.  'There are pieces of the car inside of the house.' Blaine told CBS News: 'Our neighbor across the street's wife came out and said, "Oh my husband was in the car, he just came home and he's hurt."' 'It blew pieces of the car across the other part of the street, over someone's house, into their backyard and into the clubhouse and into the pool,' Blaine continued.   The Buildings Department is assessing nearby homes for structural damage, as Blaine told the outlet that their family wouldn't be allowed re-entry until the investigation was completed. Totowa Acting Police Chief Brian Mulroony said in a release that investigators 'do not suspect foul play.' The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the bomb squad determined that it was not a bomb that caused the explosion.   Assemblyman Al Barlas wrote on Facebook thanking police, firefighters, EMS personnel and 'all of our first responders for their swift response and professionalism in ensuring the safety and well being of the residents.'  The identity and condition of the driver remains unclear.