BAYONNE, N.J. (1010 WINS) — A driver died nearly two weeks after he set himself on fire during a traffic stop in New Jersey, officials said Friday.
Officers from the Bayonne Police Department tried to pull the driver over near 54th Street and Broadway around 11 p.m. on July 13 after they saw him violate several traffic rules, the New Jersey Office of Attorney General said in a press release.
The driver, however, refused to stop, at which point the officers followed him down 52nd Street — a dead-end street — and blocked his car in, the AG’s office said.
When the officers told the driver to get out of his car, he lit a flame that quickly engulfed the inside of his vehicle, filling it with smoke, according to the AG’s office.
The officers managed to put out the fire with help from the Bayonne Fire Department, but the blaze left the driver with “serious burn-related injuries,” the release said.
He was taken to St. Barnabas Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead on July 25, according to the release.
Officials didn’t immediately release the driver’s name or age. The AG’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability is investigating his death, the release said.