'Crazy' Car Explosion Kills 3 in Pennsylvania

Police say it was a 'criminal incident'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 1, 2018 3:00 AM CDT
Cops: 'Criminal Incident' Behind Deadly Car Explosion
Stephanie Connelly of Allentown, Pa. says she saw body parts strewn across the street after the blast.   (Harry Fisher/The Morning Call via AP)

Autopsies are planned Monday on the bodies of three people found dead after a car explosion on a street in downtown Allentown, Pa., in what authorities called a "criminal incident" being probed by federal, state, and local authorities. Three males were found dead after the 9:30pm Saturday blast, said Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim, who added that he would probably be able to release the names after their identities are confirmed and their families notified, the AP reports. The ATF is leading the investigation along with the FBI, state police, and city and county authorities. Officials say the blast was believed to have been an isolated incident with no ongoing threat to the public.

"We know there's been a criminal incident," District Attorney James Martin told reporters at a news conference Sunday. "We have a high degree of confidence that the perpetrator was probably killed in the incident." Authorities released no information about the possible cause of the blast, including whether it was a bomb. Authorities asked anyone with information to call the ATF. Resident Carlos Perodin tells the Morning Call that he was watching a movie with his wife when he heard a thunderous explosion and went to the scene. "The fire was crazy," he says. "The car was pretty much split in half." Stephanie Connelly, another resident, says she saw body parts strewn across the street.

(More Pennsylvania stories.)

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