Crime & Safety

Update: Cigarette Set Teen Ablaze at Concord BART Station

Update: Thursday at 1:30 p.m.

A teenage boy suffered significant burns when his clothing caught fire outside the Concord BART station late Wednesday night.  

At about 11:35 p.m. Wednesday, police and fire crews responded to a report of a male on fire at the BART station, located at 1451 Oakland Ave., a Contra Costa County fire dispatcher said. When emergency crews arrived, they found the victim suffering from burns and airlifted him to a hospital.  

BART police Lt. Mike Hayes said it appears that a short time earlier, the boy had been working on a car belonging to someone he met at a nearby store. While working on the vehicle, he spilled gasoline on himself.  The boy told police that the driver then dropped him off at the Concord BART station and lit a cigarette before departing, Hayes said.  

Based on the initial investigation, Hayes said, it appears that the flame ignited the gasoline vapors coming from boy's clothing.  The boy then jumped out of the vehicle and stripped off his burning clothes, Hayes said.  He suffered significant burns to his arms and chest, according to Hayes.  The driver of the vehicle had left the scene before police and firefighters arrived at the BART station, and police have not been able to identify that person.  BART police Sgt. Tom Smith said no suspects are in custody this morning and that detectives are checking surveillance video from Wednesday night.


Original story posted Thursday at 6:14 a.m.:

A man was airlifted to a hospital after he was burned outside of the Concord BART station late Wednesday night, a Contra Costa County fire dispatcher said.

Crews responded to a report of a man on fire at the Concord BART station located at 1451 Oakland Ave. at about 11:35 p.m., the dispatcher said.

When crews arrived, they found a man who had been burned and airlifted him to a hospital. Further details about the incident were not immediately available.

Bay City News contributed to this report. 


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