TORONTO (CP) - A dramatic standoff in front of the Ontario legislature ended in desperation Wednesday as police and firefighters struggled to douse flames that had engulfed a clearly distraught man.
"I don't want to harm nobody," the unidentified man, driving a rental van, yelled repeatedly while dousing himself in gasoline. "I don't want to kill myself." Police cruisers formed a protective barrier to prevent the van from mounting the front lawn of the legislature where a rural landowners protest played out, most demonstrators oblivious to the scene behind them.
After about 30 minutes of driving the van erratically toward police vehicles, the man - his face obscured by glasses and a dark hat with ear flaps - delivered a final message to onlookers.
"You leave me no choice at all."
Firefighters and emergency task force officers sprung into action when the van backed onto a traffic island. Police used at least two cruisers to pin the vehicle in place, masked and heavily protected officers smashed the van's windows while firefighters unleashed a torrent of water.
Still, the man became engulfed in flames as television cameras, on hand for the anti-government demonstration, broadcast the grisly scene live and onlookers reacted in horror.
Several attempts were made to pound out the blaze after he fell to the pavement.
"He kept re-igniting because he was so soaked in gas," said one firefighter.
Firefighters turned their high-pressure hoses on the man as he lay on the ground, spreading a fan of what appeared to be blood onto the pavement beside him.
It took some 30 seconds to douse the fire, after which the man was transported to hospital.
LIKE WOHHHHH. HAVen't seen anything that desperate since god known when???What happened to Toronto the good???
__________________ Drown your face in a bowl of water!!!
Gender: Male Location: between apathy and indifference
This is a disturbing story, but how does it reflect on the city of Toronto? Toronto is still a good city, a few isolated incidents don't detract from a city of 2 million.
__________________ "I made a typo bif deal" - JacopeX
It doesn't. It's just another news article that will be forgotten in 2 days. All articles, minus some major, major ones, should be treated that way, regardless of geographical location, and shouldn't in most cases reflect on the country as a whole. That's just my view.
KMC Community Forums
Mar 9th, 2005 11:53 PM
