Truck crashes into Mesa home, bursts into flames

MESA, AZ - A suspected gasoline thief is in the hospital after he caught fire while siphoning fuel from a pickup truck.

The thief’s truck then caught fire and crashed into a Mesa home seconds after the crook jumped out of the driver’s seat

No one was inside the house, according to Mesa police.

The entire crime was caught by a surveillance camera.

“He was all burnt up,” said Mitch Drum, whose newly installed security cameras helped police gather evidence.

The video shows the thief rolling on the ground while the flames consumed his shirt. He then jumps into his truck to make his getaway, but when his vehicle catches fire, he jumps out.

The driverless, burning vehicle then crashes into a home near Signal Butte and Broadway.

Drum called 911 and chased after the thief, who police later tracked down.

Another neighbor, Tim Worth, heard the pickup hit the house and ran over to help.

“I got the water hose and starting spraying the truck and roof of the house,” Worth told ABC15.

A 12-year-old girl said she had to pull her six-year-old cousin out of the street so he wouldn’t get hit by the pickup moments before the thief jumped out of the driver’s seat.

“He came this close to hitting him,” Kaitlynn Baxter said.

Investigators said despite his burns, the unnamed suspect is expected to survive.