By Kevin Spradlin
PeeDeePost.com
ROCKINGHAM — A regular shift at Dominos Pizza in Rockingham turned dangers for a 23-year-old pizza delivery driver when his personal vehicle was consumed by fire.
The incident took place shortly after 7:30 p.m. on Long Drive between East Washington Street and FirstHealth Richmond Memorial Hospital. A Rockingham Police Department officer said the man, who wished not to be identified, would not be cited in the incident.
The man’s wife and family members were on scene. The wife said her husband saw smoke coming into the cabin of the silver Plymouth four-door sedan, quickly pulled into the turn lane of the three-lane road and popped the hood.
“He saw it was on fire,” she said. “He wasn’t in the car when it got bad.”
Rockingham Fire Department firefighters said they were originally dispatched to a car fire but in transit a dispatcher advised the vehicle was “fully involved.”
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. A sheriff’s deputy and a Rockingham Police Department officer shared traffic control duties at the East Washington Street intersection, from which traffic onto Long Drive was prevented until the vehicle was removed from the scene. Police initially closed Long Drive from the other direction as well, but after about 40 minutes opened up a single lane to slowly allow vehicles to pass around the scene of the incident.
The wife said the car is the family’s only source of transportation for the dual-income family with two children, including one with special needs. She’s also a student at Richmond Community College.
The wife said Richmond County Sheriff James Clemmons Jr. offered some helpful guidance on resources that could assist with finding a replacement vehicle.
She also said her husband was worried his employer would make him pay for the Dominos Pizza sign that had been placed on top of his car. It, too, was consumed by the fire.