A woman in Detroit, Michigan, barely escaped when her vehicle was engulfed in flames caused by a Samsung phone that caught fire.
The report brings back memories of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, which was infamously recalled twice then canceled due to its exploding battery. Will Samsung never escape from the issue of smartphone fires?
Samsung Phone Burst Into Flames
A woman was driving her Nissan Maxima on May 21 down Evergreen Avenue in downtown Detroit when she went through a horrible ordeal.
According to the woman, who wished to remain anonymous, she had her Samsung Galaxy S4 and Samsung Galaxy S8 in the vehicle's cupholder while she was driving. Suddenly, she saw a spark from one of the smartphones.
One of the Samsung phones then burst into flames, and the fire quickly spread throughout her vehicle. It remains unclear whether it was the Galaxy S4 or the Galaxy S8 that started the fire.
"I thought I was going to die when I saw the sparks and the fire," the woman told ABC News' Detroit affiliate WXYZ. She was able to pull over and get out of her vehicle as the fire engulfed it.
"It happened quickly. It just went up in flames. People were telling me to get away from the car. What if I was on the highway stuck in traffic and couldn't get out?" she said.
Gerald Thurswell, the lawyer representing the woman, said that they have reached out to Samsung about the incident. He noted that the company has been very responsible and has sent its own team to examine the vehicle and the remnants of the Samsung Galaxy smartphones.
Thurswell added that once it is determined which Samsung phone caused the fire, he and his client will push for a recall on that device. They are also thinking about filing a lawsuit against Samsung due to the emotional scars that the woman suffered from the incident.
Another Samsung Phone Catching Fire
"We stand behind the quality and safety of the millions of Samsung phones in the U.S.," said Samsung, in a statement issued in response to the incident. The company will also launch its own investigation into the matter.
Samsung has started to recover from the Galaxy Note 7 debacle, starting with the performance of Galaxy Note 8 preorders last year. Samsung lost billions of dollars due to the Galaxy Note 7 recalls and cancellation, learning its lesson and kicking off its mission to end the issue of exploding batteries in future Samsung smartphones.
It is unclear if the new Samsung phone fire hazard incident is related to the Galaxy Note 7 exploding battery problem. Hopefully, it is not a widespread issue that will place many other customers in danger.
