An SUV Explodes in the Parking Lot of a Supermarket After a Man Lights Up a Cigarette Near Propane Tanks

A man escaped the May 23 incident, but he was badly burned.

A man who lived in an SUV was hurt when it burst while he was trying to light a cigarette on Thursday, May 23. He was able to stay alive but was hurt.

Around 10:30 p.m. local time, an unnamed 37-year-old man tried to light a cigarette next to a Toyota 4-Runner in a Van Nuys, California shopping center, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department, KTLA 5, The Los Angeles Times, NBC 4 Los Angeles, and CBS affiliate KCAL.

When emergency workers got to the scene in the 7200 block of Van Nuys Boulevard, they saw that the car had exploded and that the man had mild burns. KCAL says that the man told police that he was trying to light a cigarette when the bomb went off.

Ken Smith told KCAL that he could hear the blast from several blocks away. Smith, who lives near the parking lot, said the blast shook the windows like an earthquake and was over as quickly as it began.

The man was taken to a nearby hospital to get medical care. A spokesperson for the LAFD told PEOPLE that the event was turned over to the Los Angeles Police Department because there was no active fire.

Police from LAPD shut down the parking lot. Other people were not hurt, and no other cars were destroyed.

People has reached out to the LAPD to find out more.