Man Sets Himself Afire at Gas Station : Suicide attempt: He buys $1 worth of fuel, pumps it on himself, then ignites it. He is in critical condition.

A 21-year-old man poured gasoline on himself at a gas station Wednesday and then ignited it, police said.

The man, whose name was not released, walked to a service station in the 2400 block of West Lincoln Avenue about 2:15 p.m. and paid for $1 worth of gas. He then placed everything from his pockets on top of a gas pump, pumped gasoline over his body and set it afire, police said.

Someone put out the flames with a fire extinguisher, and the man was rushed to UCI Medical Center, where he was in critical condition.

Petra Rojas, 18, who witnessed the scene from a subway shop next to the service station, said, “I thought it was a chair (on fire) at first, but then I saw a man sitting Indian-style on the ground, screaming. People were yelling out questions like, ‘How old are you?’ and he screamed back answers.”