1 dead after car fire along Peachtree Road in Atlanta, police say

ATLANTA - Police say one person is dead after a car fire along Peachtree Road in the Peachtree Battle neighborhood of Atlanta.

Officers were dispatched around 3 p.m. to a Chevron gas station located in the 2300 block of Peachtree Road near Peachtree Hills Avenue NE.

"I heard a big explosion," said Joe Polofsky. 

Polofsky lives right next to where the car went up in flames. He says not only did he hear it, he felt it. 

"Shook my house. It was different from a transformer popping, it was a noticeable shake," said Polofsky. 

SKYFOX 5 flew over the scene shortly before 5 p.m. and saw a burned out car along Junction Avenue NE. 

"Just such a sudden fire the way it was reported definitely out of the ordinary," said Atlanta Fire Battalion Chief Ronald Slatton. 

Battalion Chief Slatton says an Atlanta police officer responding to another call when it spotted the car which had burst into flames. Firefighters quickly responded and were able to put the blaze out rather quickly. That is when firefighters say they found the body inside the vehicle.

Authorities believe the vehicle is a Nissan Sentra, but as for what sparked the fire, that remains under investigation.

"That is a good question right now," said Chief Slatton.

The battalion chief says this sort of incident is rare, especially how it was reported.

"A couple of times, but like I said, with it being such a sudden fire, the way that it was reported, it's definitely something out of the ordinary," said Chief Slatton.

The person inside the vehicle has not been identified. Their cause of death also remains under investigation.

A woman named Remy says she had just met the driver minutes earlier at the gas station. Remy says the driver had given her some money to get something to drink. Remy held the dollar bill tight as tears streamed down her face.

"She was a really good person, and I'm never going to get rid of it, I'm going to keep it," said Remy. 

Remy says it was traumatizing watching the car burn. 

"I know she went to heaven and I just want to ask that everybody work with each other because another second isn't promised," said Remy.

Firefighters hope someone saw something and will be able to help investigators out.

The scene is across the street from E. River Elementary School.