Driver Charged With OUI After Fiery Cape Cod Crash

YARMOUTH, MA – A Harwich man was charged with drunken driving after he crashed into a tree and his car exploded, police said. Officers went to a front yard on Winslow Gray Road around 1 a.m. Saturday and found a gray 2006 Ford Escape lodged up against a tree.

The car had severe front-end damage and the horn was continuously blaring, according to police. There were tire tracks from the road leading to the Ford, and it appeared the car had driven through the bushes of the neighboring home, police said.

There was also small damage to the left bumper of a car in the driveway.

The driver, later identified as 21-year-old Thomas Kendall, was standing outside of the car on his phone, police said. He had several injuries to his face and was bleeding profusely from his nose and left eye.

Responding officers saw the front of the car catch fire and brought Kendall and a nearby resident to safety.

"Within seconds of Kendall being led to safety, the vehicle became fully engulfed in flames and resulted in a small explosion," police said in a statement. The explosion did further damage to some of the trees, according to police.

Officers examined Kendall, who had slurred speech and smelled like alcohol, police said. He admitted to drinking tequila at a bar in Hyannis, according to police.

Kendall was taken to the hospital and charged with operating under the influence of liquor, marked lanes violation and operating a motor vehicle negligently so as to endanger.