Truck driver getting high on propane accidentally sparks explosion

A man whose truck exploded in North Hollywood while he was huffing propane inside the cab turned himself in to police, but wasn’t arrested, authorities said.

The truck mysteriously exploded Tuesday morning in the 11300 block of Miranda Street. The blast blew open the truck’s roof, shattered windows and startled neighbors.

No one could explain what happened -- until Tuesday night, when a man with a burned scalp and face walked into Los Angeles Police Department’s North Hollywood substation.

The man told police he was trying to get high by huffing propane inside the cab. He plugged in his cellphone charger, sparking the explosion.

It was a multi-tasking no-no, according to firefighters.

“This guy is the luckiest guy in the world. You can’t make this stuff up,” said police Sgt. Glenn McNeil, who said officers told him about the story Wednesday morning.

The man wandered out of the truck before firefighters and police arrived, McNeil said, then “passed out on a lawn somewhere.”

The man had relatives at the home and was not arrested. A call to numbers listed for the residence were not immediately returned Wednesday.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Capt. Jaime Moore said he hadn’t heard of the cause of the explosion, but that the man’s story was definitely possible.

“You got fuel, the right quantity of oxygen and an ignition source,” Moore said. “Propane is a dangerous gas.”

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Twitter: @josephserna

joseph.serna@latimes.com