An electric school bus burst into flames in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning, according to news coverage.
The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) said that the vehicle fire was reported at about 9:20 a.m. at 11460 W. Foothill Blvd., which is located directly underneath the 210 Freeway overpass in the San Fernando Valley, KTLA reported. There were no children on board the bus when the fire occurred, the outlet reported, citing LAFD officials.
The school bus’ driver, whose age and sex have yet to be released publicly, was later hospitalized due to minor smoke inhalation, according to KTLA. The cause of the fire is presently unknown, and no firefighters were reported as being injured, according to the outlet.
LAFD said that the majority of the fire was knocked down by 10:55 a.m. on Wednesday, CBS News reported. The fire department also said that the school bus was powered by lithium ion batteries, which must be monitored for several hours, according to NBC4 Los Angeles.
President Joe Biden’s administration notably led a sweeping effort to implement electric vehicles (EVs) nationwide during his sole term. In October 2024, the Federal Transit Administration issued a safety advisory about 483 electric transit buses being recalled due to safety defects.
Moreover, President Donald Trump has notably rolled back various Biden-era green energy initiatives thus far in his second term. Trump signed an “Unleashing American Energy” executive order in January that in part aimed to “eliminate” de facto EV mandates and “promote true consumer choice, which is essential for economic growth and innovation, by removing regulatory barriers to motor vehicle access.”
Earlier this year, U.S.-based automotive manufacturer General Motors reportedly quietly backpedaled from its vow to phase out gasoline-powered vehicles over the next decade. Additionally, Chrysler issued a recall in November for over 320,000 Jeep plug-in hybrid SUVs due to faulty high-voltage batteries that could potentially catch fire if the vehicles were either parked or driving down the road.
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