Grocery bags of gasoline ignite inside car, severely burning man, Arizona police say

A Phoenix man suffered critical burns when grocery bags filled with gasoline caught fire inside a car, Arizona police reported.

Officers responding to reports of a car fire found the badly burned man outside the blazing vehicle at 8:15 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 29, Phoenix police said in a news release.

The man, in his 40s, was taken to a hospital in extremely critical condition, police said.

Investigators found the owner of the car, who also had a burn injury, the release said. He initially told them a man had burned him “with an unknown object” and stolen the car.

He told police that he followed on foot and discovered the car on fire with his severely burned friend nearby, the release said. When detectives questioned discrepancies in the story, the man admitted making it up, police said.

The owner revealed the severely burned man had asked him and a friend for help after “one of their vehicles ran out of gas,” the release said.

They filled several heavy-duty plastic grocery bags with gasoline and were driving the friend to the disabled car when the gas ignited and the car erupted in flames, police said.

The other two men were not seriously hurt.

An investigation into the incident continues, police said. No charges have been filed.

This story was originally published September 30, 2022 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Grocery bags of gasoline ignite inside car, severely burning man, Arizona police say."