Stephanie Connelly was in Center City Allentown Saturday evening shopping at a neighborhood store when she heard an explosion that rocked the ground.
She said she immediately thought of a gas explosion in Allentown several years ago that killed five people, and then ran toward the sound.
"My friends and I all looked at each other and ran as fast as we could," Connelly said Sunday morning. "We're thinking about people and their pets. No one knew what was going on."
Connelly and her friends ran to the scene where officials say a car exploded, killing three people.
The burning hulk of the car was nearly unrecognizable, she said, and flaming parts littered the street. She heard a second explosion, and then a third as people screamed for help and ran for cover, Connelly said.
The grisly scene that she saw next _ several body parts strewn across the street _ shook her to the core.
"I ran away, seeing body parts, and I couldn't believe this is real," a sobbing Connelly said.
"This is real life and I'm shaking and freaking out while I'm running. I still can't believe it."
Her boyfriend, Waldemar Colon, said the first explosion _ "this massive boom!" _ made everyone stop and stare in shock at each other.
The wreckage of smoldering car parts and body parts stretched several blocks, Colon said. They shouted to police officers that a leg and a torso were nearby.
"It was just unbelievable," Colon said. "You couldn't even believe what you were seeing."
Connnelly said she's lived in Allentown for the past two years and will never feel safe again.
"I just don't know if I can walk by a car again without worrying about it blowing up," she said.
