A MAN and woman remain in a Sydney Hospital after sustaining burns in a car fire in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
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Police, paramedics and the NSW Fire Brigade all attended the scene, just before 5am outside the Bathurst Showground.
Acting Inspector, Scott Bolton, from Chifley Local Area Command said the incident occurred at 4.45am, Wednesday, when a vehicle, being driven by a 35-year-old Bathurst man caught fire, with the two occupants jumping from the car while it was still moving.
Acting Inspector Bolton said the man, and his 27-year-old female passenger, both from Bathurst had pulled up at a service station in Durham Street minutes before the fire, and filled the car with LPG gas.
“The drove for a short distance, when one of the occupants said they smelt gas.
“The woman then lit a cigarette, causing the car to explode into flames.”
Acting Inspector Bolton said the man jumped out of the car while it was still moving and the car then came to a stop after crashing into a tree near the boundary fence of the Bathurst Showground.
The female passenger did the same.
Acting Inspector Bolton said it appears the LPG gas fitting on the car was not complete, or the tank had been removed from the car, and the people driving the car were not aware of this.
When they filled the car with gas, it filled into the boot of the car, and then caught fire when the cigarette was lit.
Police, who have been investigating the matter since it occurred said on Friday inquiries into the matter revealed the car was not stolen, and the police investigation into the incident is now complete.
Acting Inspector Bolton said both the man and the woman were flown to Sydney suffering serious burns. A spokesperson from NSW Ambulance said the woman suffered burns, feet, arms and face and was transported to Bathurst Base Hospital where she was later airlifted in a serious condition. No further information was available on the man, apart from the fact he was flown to Sydney for treatment.