An Exploding Pickup Truck

This is one of those news stories that makes you say, “What the heck is going on here??”

Two men were hurt by an explosion in the cab of their pickup. They said it was a drive-by bomb attack.

Hmm.

However, witnesses saw the men throwing something into a nearby field before the police arrived. Police later found unexploded mortar rounds in the field, and a “mortar-like device” in the truck.

Again, hmm.

All this occurred in Michigan, but my knowledge of the state’s ethnic geography is insufficient to determine how culturally-enriched Columbia Township is, or how likely it is the miscreants victims were adherents of the Religion of Peace. I suppose we’ll have to wait for the men to be charged and named by the police, if that ever happens.

From MLive:

Truck Explosion in Columbia Township Sends Pair of Adrian Men to U-M Hospital

A pair of Adrian men have been airlifted to the University of Michigan Hospital following an explosion in the truck they were driving Sunday afternoon in Columbia Township.

According to Columbia Township Police Chief David Elwell, the men, 22 and 23 years of age, were riding in a 1995 Chevrolet pickup on Cement City Road at Dearmyer Road at about 4 p.m. when the cab of the truck exploded.

The driver of the truck, 22, told police that another vehicle passed by and threw something into it.

“The inside of the truck was pretty damaged,” Elwell said. “It’s a wonder they weren’t killed on impact.”

However, after the explosion, Elwell said two witnesses told police they saw the men run to a nearby corn field, throw items into it and return to the scene before police arrived.

Columbia Township police and fire, with the help of K-9 units, later recovered three round mortars — one 4 inches in length and two that were 3 inches — and a canister mortar in the field.

“Following the K-9 search, Columbia Township police and fire personnel set up a grid search pattern, and within a half hour located a total of four additional unexploded mortars,” according to a release from the Columbia Township Police Department. “An explosion-proof container was obtained from Brooklyn Department of Public Works, and all the explosives that were located were then secured and removed from the scene.”

Police also discovered remains of a “mortar-like device, similar to what is used for fireworks shows” inside the vehicle.

Prior to being airlifted to Ann Arbor, the two men were conscious and still talking, Elwell said. The incident remains under investigation.

Columbia Township police and fire were assisted by the Allegiance Health bomb-detection unit, Blackman-Leoni Township Department of Public Safety and ambulances from Addison and Jackson.

Hat tip: Winds of Jihad.