Woman, 2 daughters escape car fire on I-295

Experts offer advice to avoid potentially dangerous car fires

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After a car caught fire Wednesday morning on Interstate 295 near I-95 on Jacksonville's Southside, a woman called News4Jax to say that she and her daughters had barely escaped the flames.

“I don't think it's hit me yet,” Sheree Conage said. “I'm still trying to go, still trying to move, still trying to stay going, so it doesn't hit me that we almost just died.”

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Conage said she was driving in her Mini Cooper with her daughters, ages 17 and 6, when she noticed the smell of smoke. 

"We were driving and we are on 295 or whatever and I hear something go click, click, click, click, click,” Conage said. “And that's never a good sound.”

She pulled over on I-295 and pulled her daughters out. Minutes later, the car was up in flames.

“Smoke and flames just everywhere, and we're just in shock,” Conage said.

Conage said she had been having a lot of issues with the car, particularly having to put oil in it frequently.

Experts at Aaron's Car Care said that's a red flag that a car could be ready to catch on fire.

"Usually .... there is a repair that is needed and was left go for whatever reason and usually it will be oil or transmission leaks or fuel leaks even," said Aaron Nelson, owner of Aaron's Car Care.

Nelson said some other signs to look for include smoke and a burning smell.

"In a case like this, from what I understand, she's been having to add a lot of oil to this particular automobile. That's a red flag right there," Nelson said. "Obviously, it's going somewhere, and she's already got smoke and she's got a leak and stuff like that. It's a very high likelihood that it would ignite."

Aaron’s Car Care technicians said it’s best to just stay on top of things, so if you’re going to get an oil change or you have a leak, don’t wait until it gets really bad. It's really something that needs to be fixed immediately. 

Conage's family was moving into a new home Wednesday. They were in a U-Haul truck with their belongings just hours after their nearly deadly ride.

Two lanes of I-295 southbound were blocked for about an hour after the car fire.