SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) – A man distraught over his marriage set himself on fire in a parking lot over the weekend, then rammed his car into an empty minivan before firefighters doused him with water.
William R. Martin, 43, had taped a propane gas tank to the front of his car and threatened to “take somebody with him” after emergency personnel barricaded him into the lot in Springfield’s Boston Road neighborhood on Saturday, according to The Republican of Springfield.
After police responded to a 911 call from Martin’s home just after 1 p.m., Martin drove into the lot, backed up to a fence, and poured gasoline on himself while behind the wheel of the car, authorities said.
“His intention was to drive out and smash into a car … He said he hoped the police cars had good gas tanks,” said Police Sgt. John M. Delaney.
Martin threw a rag soaked with gasoline at Delaney after he offered Martin a mobile phone so police could try to negotiate from a distance, Delaney said.
Delaney was about four feet from the car when Martin tried to light a match, failed, then lit a second, put the car in drive and was engulfed by flames when the match ignited his clothes and the inside of his car.
Fire officials said Martin was completely on fire as he rammed the minivan, which was empty, then leaped from the car, screaming. Firefighters, who had taken cover behind a fire truck after Martin threatened to force the gasoline-laden car out of the lot, sprayed him with water.
Martin was alive when he was taken by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center, then was transferred to a Boston burn unit in critical condition, with burns over 90 percent of his body, according to police.
Family friend Richard Jones of Springfield said Martin had “a bad temper” and had been tormented by wife’s decision to leave him two days before.
“I tried to talk him out of doing it. I took his matches away from him. Apparently he had more,” Jones said. “He’s threatened to kill himself before.”
Police said Martin and his wife had a history of domestic problems. Investigators recovered a hunting knife with a five-inch retractable blade from the charred car.
AP-ES-08-24-03 1604EDT
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