This news item combines all our favorite things: commuter news, SUVs, cigarette regulation, the mayor's quality of life plans, and a generous espresso shot of schadenfreude to boot! Hooray!

Did anyone see a flaming car spinning out of control on the Bay Bridge at the Harrison Street exit in the City this morning? A man finishing up his cigarette in his Ford Expedition around 10:30 a.m. today decided to defy Mayor Newsom and litter in our beautiful city by throwing the still-lit butt out the window.

Unfortunately, the cigarette flew back into the car, and set his back seat on fire. The driver panicked, pulled over to the leftmost lane (which is not a breakdown shoulder on the bridge), and jumped out of the still-moving car. The car then crashed into the guardrail at the end of the bridge and burst into flames.

The Harrison Street exit was closed for an hour while firefighters got the blaze under control. The driver is fine, except that his head was singed (and he's out a car). The authorities say that throwing a lit cigarette out a car window is a misdemeanor and the driver will be charged. In the court of SFist public opinion, though, we find the driver -- ha ha ha ha ha!