Police were called to the scene near 42nd and 10th Avenue just after 7 p.m.
The 31-year-old driver was operating a 2013 Chevrolet express van that had a food cart attached which became loose and struck a parked 2021 Kia Serrano with a 48-year-old woman and a 10-year-old boy.
Police say the driver, Sayed Khaled Elsayed Abdelmohsen, fled the scene, but the 48-year-old woman followed him in her vehicle.
First responders noticed a strong smell of gasoline coming from the van and requested FDNY assistance.
At first, the driver of the van tried to get rid of his keys and said he couldn't open the vehicle, but firefighters forced entry.
They say what they found could have turned catastrophic with a little heat or a single leak or spark.
"Propane is a very low lying gas, it would have stayed very low to the ground, it would have almost doubled and tripled itself in size as it turned from liquid gas into vapor, and the explosion would have been unbelievable," said FDNY Special Inspections Chief Joe Rogers.
Authorities confiscated 76 20-pound propane cylinders, 15 5-gallon fuel containers for a total of 75 gallons of gasoline, and 10 gallons of diesel.
The driver was arrested and facing several charges, including reckless endangerment and multiple fire code violations.
What exactly the driver was doing is under investigation, but authorities say they have a good idea and they are cracking down.
"The food vending industry is using this as a mass way of getting their product out to carts on the street," Rogers said.
The Manhattan district attorney is prosecuting the case.
"It is very very dire consequences if you don't follow fire code correctly and folks really should heed the warning," said FDNY Fire Prevention Chief Tom Currao.
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