Police Dodge Charger Turns to Ash, Chrysler Replaces It

Some would say that this is proof of guilt: American manufacturer Chrysler was asked to replace a Dodge Charger Pursuit police vehicle after the car owned by the Curry County sheriff's department in Oregon caught fire and burned to the ground. Chrysler said yes and, aside for the car itself, the car maker apparently agreed to replace all the police gear that was inside the car at the time of the fire.

The story of how this came to be is short and very hot. While assisting with a search and rescue operation, Deputy Jared Gray left the car parked, near Humbug Canyon. At one point, his patrol car caught fire, apparently in the passenger wheel well at first (police suspects the brake line, which is too close to hot parts of the car, to be at fault). Soon, the car was ablaze, engulfed in a fire that wouldn't stop until the car was entirely destroyed.

The incident took place in March, but it is only now that word of Chrysler agreeing to replace the cruiser reached Curry Pilot publication. Unfortunately, the exact details of how the once new cruiser (the car had 6,000 miles on the odometer) came to be a pile of smoking debris.

“We went into a confidential agreement,” Sheriff John Bishop told the Curry pilot. “I can’t give the details, but Chrysler is buying us a new vehicle with all the equipment. We were negotiating with them. They will buy the county a new patrol vehicle with the listed equipment that was in the one that burned down.”