Investigators say a driver's decision not to have a flat tire fixed led to the deadly flames that consumed her minivan on an Eden Prairie highway and forced her to flee the burning vehicle while it was still moving.
The State Patrol released its conclusions this week about the chain-reaction circumstances surrounding the van fire that sent belching smoke skyward above Hwy. 5/212 April 25 and created a lunch-hour tragedy in an area packed with stores, restaurants and other businesses.
Susan J. Clark, 66, of Eden Prairie, was taken by ambulance to HCMC, where she died 45 minutes later from burns and other injuries.
In the weeks since Clark's death, her three children, two sisters and other relatives have wondered why the vehicle caught fire in an instant.
"I hope we can find an answer for some closure," Clark's sister, Kathleen Raab, said several days before the patrol disclosed its findings.
The patrol determined that a piece of the left rear tire flew up and damaged the space just below the fuel cap, igniting a small amount of gasoline in that spot.
The burning van kept moving east, grazed a median barrier and veered onto a grassy area, where Clark abandoned it as it kept rolling.
Patrol Lt. Tiffani Nielson said Clark visited a Midas outlet earlier that afternoon and received an estimate for new tires and asked about having her flat tire fixed. She told a store employee she wanted to check with someone before deciding what to do, Nielson said. She then drove off on the flat tire.
