Woman injured by cigarette butt car fire

A 41-year-old car driver was seriously injured on Wednesday afternoon on the A41 near Annecy (Haute-Savoie), after the cigarette butt she threw out of the window blew back into the car.

According to France Bleu Pays de Savoie, the cigarette butt landed on the back seat of the car, and fire took hold very quickly.

The driver had just enough time to reach a rest area (aire de repos) where brake failure forced her to hit an embankment to stop the vehicle, just a few metres from a service station.

She received injuries to her face, back and chest, and was rescued by service station staff – who doused her with water – before being transported by helicopter to Lausanne.

Two lorry drivers used their fire extinguishers to put out the fire in the car. One of them was slightly injured.