Driver and blind passenger forced to escape burning vehicle

MELBOURNE, Fla. (FOX 35 WOFL) - Two tourists had to escape a burning car on the southbound lanes of I-95 in Melbourne this Wednesday. And to make it tougher, the passenger in the vehicle was blind. 

The driver of the now completely destroyed 2002 Dodge Neon told Fox 35 reporter Derrol Nail that he knew the car was gone when he pulled over on I-95 and saw smoke billowing out of the hood. He told his passenger to get out immediately, but that was easier said than done.

The blind passenger was able to get out of the vehicle safely but a police officer was yelling him and the driver to get farther away from the car. However, the passenger did not have his cane with him, so he had to use his feet to feel for the edge of the road.

Not long after that, something inside the vehicle exploded. 

The Brevard County Fire Rescue put the car out, which in the meantime, brought I-95 to a stand still. 

The driver believes the fire was caused by a gas leak. The car is a total loss, but he is insured.