Southern California woman escapes Uber before it burst into flames on her way to JFK Airport

By Lesley Marin

A Southern California woman from Lake Arrowhead was able to escape her Uber before it burst into flames while on her way to JFK Airport in New York last week.

Erin Sloan said she was in her Uber shuttle with seven other people heading to the airport when she heard something fall from under the vehicle.

“Halfway through the trip, I felt something underneath me fall, then further down something else fell off and then something huge fell off,” Sloan said.

Soon after, Sloan started feeling something hot from under her seat. That’s when the shuttle cabin started filling with smoke and the driver pulled over.

As the group began evacuating with the help of an off-duty officer who saw the fire, glass began to explode, and thick black smoke filled the area.

“They would get it extinguished, and it would blow back up again,” Sloan said.  

Sloan said one of the most frustrating parts about the incident has been dealing with Uber. She said it wasn’t until she posted a video on social media that the company reached out.

“Their initial response was, ‘Thank you so much for letting us know. We’re going to look into this and we hope you have safer rides,’ like no guys, I fled a flaming car and ran across the freeway,” Sloan said.

Video after the fire was put out shows the van reduced to its metal frame. Sloan said luckily no one was hurt, but they had to take another van to get to where they were going.

Sloan said Uber did offer to return her $19 fare and credited her $50 to her account.  

CBS LA has reached out to Uber for a statement, but has not heard back.