(Photo: Samantha Radocchia)
High drama on the Williamsburg Bridge this afternoon, as a car headed for Brooklyn caught fire shortly before 1:47 p.m.
The blaze, which shut down the east-bound lane, was extinguished by 2:39 p.m., but not before some folks on Twitter and Instagram got some pretty intense shots. It’s uncertain what caused the fire; no one was injured, the FDNY said.
Update: Samantha Radocchia, who took the above photo, gives us an eyewitness account: “I was simply enjoying a leisurely afternoon bike ride over the Williamsburg Bridge with my good friend Taylor Ballantyne atop our bicycles, “The Oreo” and “Sacha Fierce.” Midway through the bridge (you know, right in the midst of that terrible never-ending gradual incline), and while simultaneously watching “Burn Notice” on my iPhone’s Netflix, I heard a large boom. At first I thought it was in my head, but no, it was REAL LIFE.
“My only conclusion from this matter is that clearly bicycles are more reliable modes of transportation than a flaming BMW. #CitiBikes. Aside from a raging fire and a visibly distraught man in Nantucket Red shorts, crying over the loss of his little blue hot rod (pun intended), I really did not see much. I was more concerned about getting my ass off that bridge.”