Durham County authorities said that the vehicle veered off the road, hitting a 12-inch gas main in the Hardscrabble neighborhood near the intersection of Old Buggy Trail and St. Mary's Road around 10:30 p.m.
The accident knocked out power to several homes in Durham and Orange counties and caused a natural gas leak nearby. Authorities said the flames ignited a gas line, causing an explosion.
PSNC crews isolated the affected line about 11:45 p.m. and the fire dissipated within a couple of hours.
Early Tuesday morning, crews were able to restore power to several homes in Durham and Orange counties. PSNC Energy officials said they are going to have to replace a regulatory station, which provides gas to the neighborhood.
Officials said nearly 300 homes do not have gas service and may not see service restored until around noon Tuesday.
There were no residences in the immediate area of the fire and there were no evacuations.
One person was confirmed inside the vehicle during the accident, said authorities. That person was ejected from the car and was taken to an area hospital. There was no word of other injuries as a result of the explosion or fire.
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