The NYPD uncovered a potentially explosive situation Tuesday night when officers responded to a traffic collision in the heart of Manhattan and discovered a van loaded with hazardous fuel containers.

The drama unfolded just after 7 p.m. near the bustling intersection of 42nd Street and 10th Avenue. Police say 31-year-old Sayed Khaled Elsayed Abdelmohsen was behind the wheel of a 2013 Chevrolet Express van hauling a food cart when the cart detached and slammed into a parked Kia Sorrento. Inside were a 48-year-old woman and a 10-year-old boy.

Rather than stop, Abdelmohsen allegedly fled the scene — but the victim was not about to let him get away. She followed the van in her own vehicle, tracking it as it continued through Midtown.

When police and first responders caught up with the van, they were met with a strong and unsettling smell of gasoline. FDNY units, including HAZMAT teams, were immediately called in.

What they discovered inside the vehicle stunned the emergency teams: 76 propane cylinders, each weighing 20 pounds; 15 five-gallon jugs of gasoline, totaling 75 gallons; and another 10 gallons of diesel fuel. All of it stored haphazardly in the same van that had just been involved in a crash on one of New York’s busiest streets.

Initially, Abdelmohsen attempted to throw away his keys and told officers he couldn’t open the van — a move that only deepened suspicions.

He was quickly arrested and is now facing a slew of serious charges, including reckless endangerment and multiple fire code violations. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.

No injuries were reported, but officials say the incident could have ended very differently.

Investigators are working to determine what Abdelmohsen was doing with the massive stockpile of fuel — and whether any of it was licensed.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)