Man hit before gas station inferno crash has died The people caught in the explosion emerged safely

A man whose car was hit by an SUV in North Seattle on Monday night, shortly before the SUV hit a gas pump and exploded, has died, Harborview Medical Center confirmed Wednesday.

The 35-year-old victim died sometime Tuesday, Harborview spokeswoman Susan Gregg said. His identity has not been released.

The car that reportedly caused the wreckage was a 2007 Nissan Xterra driven by a 60-year-old male ride-share driver with a 40-year-old female passenger, police reports indicate. They were headed north on Holman Road Northwest in the Crown Hill neighborhood about 7:50 p.m. when the SUV hit a 1997 Honda Accord that was also headed north.

The crash caused the Honda to slide sideways into a tree on a planting strip, which cut the sedan in half and trapped the 35-year-old driver inside the car.

The SUV continued another two blocks before barreling into a gas station pump at Fourth Avenue Northwest. The vehicle tore the pump from its moorings and ignited a "small explosion and fire," according to Seattle police.

The SUV passenger was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, while the driver was not injured.

Firefighters extracted the Honda driver from his car and medics took him to Harborview Medical Center, where he died the next day.

Collision detectives responded to the scene and evaluated the SUV driver for signs of impairment. A blood sample was taken from the driver and he was interviewed and released pending the blood lab results, police say.

The victim's family is not speaking with reporters, according to Harborview. The King County Medical Examiner's Office has not yet identified him.