GETTYSBURG, Pa. —
A car crashed into a Gettysburg gift shop early Monday morning, exploded and then caught the shop and another building on fire.
Gettysburg explosion
- The crash happened around 4:30 a.m. on the 500 block of Baltimore Street.
- The car crashed into the Blue and Gray Gift Shop. The car exploded and caught the shop and a neighboring building on fire.
- The neighboring building has several apartments in it. There were six people inside, but they were all able to escape safely.
- Some of the tenants told WGAL’s Matt Barcaro that they heard the explosion and the whole building shook.
- The coroner said the driver is a man, but officials are still trying to identify him.
- Police said a preliminary investigation shows the driver was speeding and failed to negotiate a curve.
Firefighters rescued residents
According to Gettysburg Fire Department Deputy Chief Joe Temarantz, two off-duty firefighters who were on their way to work rescued a few people who were stuck on a balcony at the rear of the apartment building.
Three firefighters were hurt. Two suffered leg injuries and one suffered a medical emergency. All are being treated at the hospital and are expected to be released.
About 25 to 30 departments responded to the fire.