A standard propane tank for an outdoor gas-barbecue grill was the cause of the U-Haul truck explosion that killed a man Saturday in Lewiston. However, the spark behind the explosion will remain a mystery.
“It was a typical 5-gallon tank you’d use for a barbecue or a fire pit,” said Lewiston Fire Marshal Julian Sorrell.
The explosion happened at 7:15 a.m. Saturday in the Nez Perce Plaza parking lot between the Courtyard by Marriott hotel and the Old Navy store. The driver, Douglas R. Petersen, 61, of Meridian, had started the rented U-Haul truck-van, which had been parked there, and drove it about 100 feet before it exploded, Sorrell said. No one else was injured in the explosion…