An explosion ripped apart a Toyota 4-Runner SUV Friday night in a Van Nuys shopping center parking lot.
Police responded at about 10:30 p.m. Thursday to the 7000 block of Van Nuys Boulevard near Sherman Way after reports of the blast, which neighbors said rattled their homes. Officers found the mangled SUV parked in the lot with a person inside.
The injured occupant was hospitalized, but details about the injuries were not immediately available. He appeared to be speaking with firefighter-paramedics before he was transported from the scene in an ambulance.
SUV parts and other debris were scattered in the parking lot.
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Authorities said it appears the man living inside the SUV was smoking a cigarette when propane canisters in the vehicle exploded.
