Man driving bus runs cars off road, sets himself on fire to rush cops, MO police say

A man is dead after he set himself on fire and charged police officers in Missouri, according to the Chillicothe Police Department.

Leading up to the encounter on Wednesday, May 11, police received a call from a nearby county around 6:30 p.m., that a man carrying a gas can was going from business to business trying to buy lighters, a release from Chillicothe police said.

The man, later identified as a 43-year-old resident of Dalton, was driving an old school bus that had been repainted.

Minutes later, a driver called 911, saying that a bus was driving erratically on Interstate 65.

“The reporting party stated the driver of the bus was speeding up, slowing down rapidly, and running other vehicles off the roadway,” the release said.

The bus came speeding into Chillicothe around 7:18 p.m., according to police, and officers quickly performed a traffic stop.

Once pulled over, officers told him to exit the vehicle, at which point the driver “leapt” out of the seat and ran toward the back of the bus, the release said. The windows were “heavily tinted,” allowing the driver to disappear from view as he moved around the bus.

Though officers couldn’t see where he was or what he was doing, they continued ordering him to step outside.

Eventually he did, but emerged from the bus engulfed in flames, and began running toward the police officers, the release said.

Police believe that while the driver was out of sight, he poured fuel over his body and ignited it.

One of the officers managed to put the fire out with an extinguisher from their patrol car, but the man was severely burned.

“Despite life saving measures by Livingston County EMS, and transfer to a medical facility via airlift, the 43 year Dalton, Missouri resident succumbed to his injuries,” the release said.

Police don’t know what may have motivated the man’s behavior but said the case is under investigation.

This story was originally published May 12, 2022 at 1:24 PM with the headline "Man driving bus runs cars off road, sets himself on fire to rush cops, MO police say."