Poof!
Staff writer
An Uber ride from Wichita took an unexpected turn Thursday when the driver’s vehicle caught on fire on US-56/77 near 210th Rd.
Clark Jones had flown from Florida to Wichita and hired an Uber driver, Rajabu Boboko, to take him from there to Junction City.
Jones is in the Air Force. His girlfriend, stationed at Fort Riley, is deploying soon to Poland. The two, who originally met at Virginia Military Institute, planned to spend five days together before her deployment.
About 1:30 p.m., Jones’s ride ended abruptly, leaving him stranded 47 miles from his destination. The Uber driver’s car caught fire and was fully engulfed in flames when Marion firefighters arrived shortly after 1:30 p.m.
No one was hurt.
Sheriff’s deputy Aaron Christner interviewed Jones and the driver in tall grasses and weeds on a slight hill east of the highway while crews put out flames.
Jones had to call his commanding officer to report that he had talked to a law enforcement officer.
A Record reporter drove Jones the rest of the way to Junction City.