In Virginia, 19-year-old Bailey Belcher was driving home when he noticed smoke coming out of his mother’s Kia Soul. He pulled over and got out of the car.
Five minutes later, the entire car was engulfed in flames. Without explanation, the family says that the car had been reduced to a skeleton of its former self. But the dealer is still billing them for monthly car payments.
Still, they are relatively lucky, compared to other drivers. In Oklahoma, Kelly Nash is mourning the death of his brother, who was running errands in his Kia Soul last year when his mother suddenly heard an explosion outside her apartment.
She struggled to free her son from the car, but the doors had automatically locked, trapping him inside, Nash says.
