Vehicle catches fire between Parkersburg and New Hartford

A Parkersburg man’s Chevrolet Suburban was incinerated and totaled at the intersection of Highway 57 and Terrace Avenue near New Hartford last Wednesday night.

According to police reports, the vehicle was registered to Robert Dexter, and his son, who was driving it to his home in Cedar Falls, was not transported for any injuries or medical treatment. The New Hartford Fire Department and the Butler County Sheriff’s Office responded to the call, which came in at around 10:00 p.m., and stayed for an hour and a half. “It turned out about as good as it could,” Robert Dexter said. “Everybody got out okay, and it was a night of adventure if nothing else.”

Dexter went on to explain that the vehicle, a 1999 model with over 200,000 miles and a host of mechanical issues, had “a list of stuff wrong with it that was the length of your arm.” His son called to inform him that the engine was smoking under the hood, and within a matter of minutes, the vehicle went up in flames.