This past weekend, the Harden family of Bellingham, Washington went to Toys “R” Us to go Christmas shopping for their grandson. They bought a Tonka 12V Ride-On Dump Truck.
On the way home from the store, they say it ignited into flames. They stopped at a rest area to put out the fire. On the way back to the store, it caught on fire again — and set their truck on fire, too.
The blaze sent flames 20 feet into the air and caused serious damage to the back of their truck. State troopers told NBC they could not put the fire out with a fire extinguisher.
NBC video still – Toy Tonka truck on fire in the back of the Harden’s pickup truck
Delmond Harden told King5 News,
The firefighter … doused the truck with water and I’m — I still can’t believe it — we almost shut I-5 down, and it was just a toy for our grandson. Who would have known.”
Toys R Us gave them a full refund and apologized. The company said it appears to be an isolated incident, but they are pulling it off store shelves and working with the manufacturer to determine the cause.
Toys R Us pulled all of the remaining trucks off store shelves. It is also unavailable from Amazon.com and other retailers.
The $300 ride-on truck included a 12-volt rechargeable battery, two passenger seats with seat-belts, sound effects, a working dump bed in the back, and was designed for children to ride up to 4 miles per hour.
Charred remains after the fire – Photo courtesy of Harden Family
Source: King5 News