A 50-year-old man has tragically burned to death after he bought 56 cents worth of gas and set himself on fire in front of a Virginia filling station on Monday, police have reported.
The man purchased the gas at a Sunoco Gas Station in Herdon before he doused himself in it.
He was flown to a Medstar Washington Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead with second and third degree burns on 80 percent of his body, according to WJLA.
More than a dozen bystanders poured water on the man in an attempt to extinguish the flames, a witness told Reston Now.
The gas canister was still lying on the ground Monday afternoon, as were emptied water bottles, a lighter and what looked to be the man’s wallet.
The Fairfax County Fire Marshall Hazardous Unit is investigating the incident and do not yet know why the man set himself on fire.
Witnesses like Adil Ahniche were horrified by the scene this afternoon at a #Herndon Sunoco @ABC7News pic.twitter.com/Wzlw0C3q0V
— Van Applegate (@VBagate) October 12, 2015
Read More: Man Sets Himself on Fire at Herndon Sunoco
