Man seriously burned after gasoline-filled grocery bags ignite Phoenix car fire

PHOENIX – A man was seriously burned Thursday morning in Phoenix after plastic grocery bags filled with gasoline ignited, causing a vehicle fire, authorities said.

Officers responded to a call about a vehicle in flames near 35th and Glendale avenues around 8:15 a.m., the Phoenix Police Department said in a press release.

The fire department responded to put out the flames and treat the man, who was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, police said.

Officers spoke to the owner of the vehicle, who had minor burns. He initially said the vehicle had been stolen and was on fire when he and his friend tracked it down.

When investigators confronted the owner with inconsistencies in his story, he admitted he’d made it up, police said.

Detectives determined that three men were involved. When one of them ran out of gas, the man who ended up getting severely burned and a friend called the vehicle owner for help.

The three men filled the grocery bags at a gas station and were driving to the vehicle that was out of gas when the bags ignited for an unknown reason, police said.

The man hospitalized with serious burns, who police said is in his early 40s, was in extremely critical condition. The other two man did not need additional medical attention.

No arrests were made and the investigation was ongoing, police said.

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