NEBRASKA CITY – A Metro Community College student escaped safely Wednesday evening after her car caught fire on Highway 75 near the J. Sterling Morton Beltway.

Kylie Rauwald, 20, was planning to meet up with friends in Nebraska City in her 2013 KIA Optima.

Rauwald: “They think it was something with my front right tire that seized up. My check engine light came on so I pulled over to check it out and smoke started coming from the glove box, so I got out, and it just kind of exploded.”

She said she escaped the smoke with her purse and her phone.

Rauwald said the flames started beneath the car and may have been caused by a faulty brake.

She said she still expects to make it to her job at a retirement home because her dad is letting her drive his car for awhile, until she gets a new one.