Chase City Man Severely Injured in Car Explosion

At approximately 2:30 p.m. on Friday, March 21, Chase City Rescue and Fire was dispatched to the 500 block of W. Third St.

According to Chase City Town Police Chief J.A. Jordan, when rescue crews arrived on scene, they discovered Jimmie Valentine of Brodnax suffering from multiple injuries from what appeared to be a car explosion.

Based on findings from the Virginia State Police Explosive Unit, an acetylene tank located in the victim’s Ford Taurus sedan was leaking and when the victim opened the trunk, static electricity is believed to have caused the explosion.

The boom ripped the entire back end off of the car, which resulted in Valentine being airlifted to MCV in Richmond by MedFlight. On Saturday, the victim was listed as being in critical but stable condition.

The vehicle was declared a total loss. No other injuries or damages were reported in the incident. The Chase City Police Dept. was assisted by the Chase City Rescue and Fire Dept., the Mecklenburg Sheriff’s Dept. and the Virginia State Police.

Investigating officer was W.W. Stembridge.