Car explodes outside hospital

WESLACO - A car mysteriously caught fire and exploded outside Knapp Medical Center late Thursday night.

The fire started around 1 a.m. and was large enough to send smoke inside the hospital's emergency room, said telephone operator Dalia DeLeon.

"There was a lot of smoke," she said. "It set the fire alarm off."

The fire, about 50 yards from the ER entrance, did not affect hospital services.

The fire spread to two adjacent vehicles before firefighters were able to put out the blaze.

"It took an hour for everything to calm down," DeLeon said.

The ER parking lot remains closed while the fire is under investigation. Patients are being directed to the hospital's main parking lot.