A tow truck driver was set on fire by two men who flagged down his vehicle, doused him in a flammable substance and flicked a lighted cigarette on him, state police said.
Police said they were not releasing the driver?s name for fear of his safety, but he is a 45-year-old Reisterstown man who owns and operates his own tow truck.
He was released Wednesday from a local hospital after being treated for severe burns to his face, arms and hands; police would not release the name of the hospital.
Police were called to the hospital about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, and the driver told them he was traveling northbound on Interstate 695 near Pulaski Highway about 11 p.m. Monday when he saw two men on the shoulder of the road in a red Ford Escort waving him down to stop.
The driver told police he got out of his tow truck to help the men and told them he would charge $50 to tow the vehicle.
He told police the men then asked how much money he had on him, and he told them he had $65.
At that point, police said, one man threw an unknown flammable substance on the tow truck driver, and the other man threw a lighted cigarette on him, causing his shirt to ignite.
One of the men appeared to be a teenager, police said.
“Once the suspects fled, he got back into his tow truck and drove home, but the pain started to get to him so much that he had to call an ambulance to come and get him,” said Elena Russo-Wendell, state police spokeswoman.
Russo-Wendell said the men are wanted for attempted first-degree murder.
