A line of more than 10 cars was backed up on University Terrace Thursday afternoon, after a post-doctorate student’s car billowed smoke from under its hood.
Athens Fire Department and Ohio University Police Department responded to the car fire in the parking lot across from Clippinger Laboratories at about 2:50 p.m.
The car, a 2002 Dodge Stratus, had been parked in the lot for fifteen minutes before flames ignited beneath its hood, the owner said, adding that the burning car’s smell filled the laboratories.
“There was a horrible smell in the lab,” the owner said. “One of my colleagues came into the room me a photo of a fire and it was my car.”
Athens Towing and Recovery towed the Dodge Stratus, which the student had owned for the past 9 months.
AFD could not determine the fire’s cause, said Lt. Bob Rymer.
“It’s hard to determine what caused it, because there weren’t any obvious problems,” Rymer said. “This time of year, it could be anything.”
sh335311@ohiou.edu
