Car explodes in Maryland after man uses body spray, lights cigarette, police say

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Baltimore County Police and Fire

(AP) -- Police in Maryland say a car blew up when a man inside lit a cigarette after spritzing himself with an aerosol body spray.

Baltimore County police spokeswoman Jennifer Peach tells The Baltimore Sun that the cigarette-and-spray combination caused "a sudden and violent expansion of the air molecules" in the car Thursday, creating a boom that pushed the roof up, shattered the front window and blew the doors open.

Peach said the driver appeared unharmed and was taken to a hospital to check for hearing damage, but Baltimore County police said on its social media accounts that the man was taken to a burn unit with serious injuries.

The man hasn't been identified.