Car Destroyed by Fire, Backs Up Highland Ave. Traffic

A smoky car fire disrupted traffic and destroyed a car along Highland Avenue on Wednesday afternoon.

The fire was reported in front of the Collins Middle School at 2:47 p.m. on Wednesday, according to the Salem Fire Department log.

The driver of the Chevrolet PT Cruiser, a Beverly man, told police that while driving the front of his car began to heat up and smoke started coming from the car “and soon afterward everything under the hood was on fire.” The driver was not injured.

When police arrived, “the entire front end of the vehicle was in flames,” police wrote in a report.

Some lanes of Highland Avenue were shut down as firefighters from Engine 4 put out the fire.

Photo Courtesy Betty Sutherland