Grand Coulee man dies in explosion

GRAND COULEE — A Grand Coulee man died after a combine exploded while he was cutting it for scrap metal.

Robert E. Vaughn, 71, was apparently using a cutting torch to disassemble an old combine near Road 31, about 10 miles from Coulee Dam on Wednesday, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office reported Monday.

There was still some fuel left in the tank, the sheriff’s office reported. When the torch flame came into contact with the fuel tank, it exploded.

“Mr. Vaughn was seriously burned by the explosion,” the sheriff’s office reported. “He was found by his wife as he attempted to drive himself to the hospital.”

Emergency services transported him to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where he died from his injuries Thursday.

The incident was investigated by the sheriff’s office, Douglas County Fire District 3 and the Ephrata fire marshal.

— Staff report