PHOENIX — A man was taken to the hospital in extremely critical condition after a vehicle fire Thursday morning near 35th and Glendale avenues, according to Phoenix police.
Officials say they were called to the area for reports of a vehicle fire around 8:15 a.m. Officers located a man and he was rushed to the hospital.
Police contacted the registered owner of the vehicle, who had minor burns.
The owner, according to police, said that his vehicle was stolen by a man who burned him with an unknown object before taking his car.
Police say the owner's friend witnessed the robbery and followed the stolen car in his vehicle. The owner followed on foot and found his vehicle on fire, along with the man with severe burns.
The owner's story was found to have inconsistencies, police say. When detectives confronted the owner, he admitted to making up the story with his friends.
Detectives learned the man with severe burns, referenced by police as a victim, asked the owner of the vehicle and his friend to get gasoline after running out of gas.
Police say the men filled heavy-duty plastic grocery bags with gasoline and drove to the location of the disabled car after picking up the victim from his home.
Before the men arrived, the bags of gasoline ignited with the three men inside, according to police.
The victim is in the hospital in extremely critical condition. Police say the other two men did not require medical attention.
This is an active investigation. No arrests have been made.
