Car got burnt and driver injured after he used a hand sanitizer while smoking a cigarette inside his car in Rockville

A  driver has got himself burnt and his car destroyed after he used a hand sanitizer while smoking a cigarette in Rockville, Maryland.

The incident which happened on Thursday in Rockville Maryland had a car burst into flames when a motorist unwisely used hand sanitizer while smoking. A harrowing video taken from a news chopper shows the vehicle smouldering in a parking lot as firefighters rush to douse the blaze.

“Using hand sanitizer and smoking a cigarette is a bad combo in unventilated areas like a car,” a Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service official told the local ABC affiliate. The crew responded to the freak inferno, which occurred around 5:30 p.m. at the Federal Plaza Shopping Center in Rockland.

ICYMI (~530p) vehicle fire at Federal Plaza, 12200blk Rockville Pike, near Trader Joe’s & Silver Diner, @mcfrs PE723, M723, AT723 & FM722 were on scene (news helicopter video) pic.twitter.com/TeAynaGsgp

— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) May 13, 2021

Officials said that the unnamed driver was smoking a cigarette and then started using the germ-killing elixir, which ignited and set the whole car aflame like an impromptu Molotov cocktail.

That might be due to the fact that hand sanitizers contain a large amount of alcohol — around 60% ethanol or 70% isopropanol, which makes the personal hygiene product highly flammable.

Fortunately, the motorist was immediately transported to the hospital, where he was treated for minor burns and other non-life-threatening injuries. The vehicle, on the other hand, was torched beyond repair.

This isn’t the first time that the skin sterilization serum has sparked an inferno. Last September, a Texas woman suffered severe burns after hand sanitizer on her skin reportedly caught fire and exploded as she was lighting a candle.

Meanwhile, a UK taxi driver accidentally set his head alight à la “Ghost Rider” after trying to retrieve a passenger’s forgotten lighter using his freshly sanitized hands.