Police: Man badly burned after group tries to load gasoline into grocery bags, causing fire

PHOENIX (AZFamily/Gray News) -- A man in Arizona is in the hospital with serious burns after police said a group of men filled grocery bags with gasoline and loaded them into a car, which caused a fire Thursday morning.

Phoenix police said a vehicle was engulfed in flames shortly after 8 a.m. When officers arrived on the scene, they said they found a man in his 40s burned near the car and rushed him to the hospital.

Officers said they talked to another man at the scene, who said the car was his.

Police said the man told them an elaborate story about how his friend was burned and his car caught fire. After talking with witnesses at the scene, they said they confronted the man, who confessed he made up the story with his friends.

Police said they later found out the victim had asked two friends to get gasoline because one of their cars was empty. The men reportedly filled several plastic grocery bags with gas before leading them into the car. They then picked up the victim and drove to the second vehicle.

However, AZFamily reports that, before they arrived, the bags of gasoline ignited with the three men inside the car, causing the vehicle to burst into flames.

Police said the victim is in extremely critical condition, while another man had minor burns. No one has been arrested, and the investigation is ongoing.

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