COLORADO SPRINGS -
Family members say an 18-year-old woman who was killed when a gasoline pump exploded in Colorado Springs was home on spring break from Grinnell College in Iowa.
Police Lt. Dave Whitlock says Whitney Hendrickson was filling a minivan with gas at a 7-Eleven convenience store Tuesday when an SUV struck a pickup parked at the pump. The pickup toppled a gas pump, which then caught fire and exploded.
The explosion happened at about 12:40 p.m. Tuesday at the 7-Eleven at 1428 West Colorado Avenue. Witnesses say people who tried to help Hendrickson were driven back by the heat
Hendrickson was a freshman at Grinnell. Her friend Julie Podair, a Grinnell student from Appleton, Wis., was in the minivan but escaped without injury.
The SUV driver, 29-year-old Kelli Renae McKay of Colorado Springs, was treated at Memorial Hospital for contusions. She was cited with suspicion of careless driving involving a death, a misdemeanor, Whitlock said.
Hendrickson was pumping gas when the fire erupted, and she was trapped between the pump and a minivan, witnesses said.
"She was standing there screaming 'Help me! Help me! I'm going to die,"' Greg Alderman told The Gazette.
A passenger in the minivan, 19-year-old Julie Podair of Appleton, Wis., escaped unharmed.
The driver of the pickup, 21-year-old Noel Gebarra of Colorado Springs, was preparing to pull away from the pump when the crash occurred. He wasn't injured, police said.
Alderman works across the street from the 7-Eleven store where the explosion occurred. He said he tried to get to the woman but the heat was too intense.
Michael Horvat, who also works across the street, said he ran to the store with a fire extinguisher but an off-duty firefighter yelled at him to back off. Just then the pump exploded.
"She was frozen in there, between the gas pumps and her car," Horvat said. "She was holding her face. Flames were all around her. She never got out."
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Police Lt. Dave Whitlock says Whitney Hendrickson was filling a minivan with gas at a 7-Eleven convenience store Tuesday when an SUV struck a pickup parked at the pump. The pickup toppled a gas pump, which then caught fire and exploded.
The explosion happened at about 12:40 p.m. Tuesday at the 7-Eleven at 1428 West Colorado Avenue. Witnesses say people who tried to help Hendrickson were driven back by the heat
Hendrickson was a freshman at Grinnell. Her friend Julie Podair, a Grinnell student from Appleton, Wis., was in the minivan but escaped without injury.
The SUV driver, 29-year-old Kelli Renae McKay of Colorado Springs, was treated at Memorial Hospital for contusions. She was cited with suspicion of careless driving involving a death, a misdemeanor, Whitlock said.
Hendrickson was pumping gas when the fire erupted, and she was trapped between the pump and a minivan, witnesses said.
"She was standing there screaming 'Help me! Help me! I'm going to die,"' Greg Alderman told The Gazette.
A passenger in the minivan, 19-year-old Julie Podair of Appleton, Wis., escaped unharmed.
The driver of the pickup, 21-year-old Noel Gebarra of Colorado Springs, was preparing to pull away from the pump when the crash occurred. He wasn't injured, police said.
Alderman works across the street from the 7-Eleven store where the explosion occurred. He said he tried to get to the woman but the heat was too intense.
Michael Horvat, who also works across the street, said he ran to the store with a fire extinguisher but an off-duty firefighter yelled at him to back off. Just then the pump exploded.
"She was frozen in there, between the gas pumps and her car," Horvat said. "She was holding her face. Flames were all around her. She never got out."
The Associated Press contributed to this report
