Syracuse Man Sets Himself on Fire, Crashes Into a Home Syracuse Man Sets Himself on Fire, Drives Into Town of Onondaga Home

Reporter:

The neighborhood around Kasson Road is usually quiet.

But yesterday afternoon, that all changed.

A man lit himself on fire and drove into the living room of this home.

Neighbor Rick Guy:

“No, in fact I’ve never seen such as that anywhere and you know, I’ve got a law background and I’m familiar with this kind of thing generally and it sure seems that there’s a backstory to this whole thing. Will unfold I suspect in the coming days.”

Reporter:

The man who lives in this house is named Fred, he’s his 80s and when the car came crashing in around 3:30 yesterday afternoon, he narrowly escaped.

The man driving the car died on the scene, according to authorities. He lived a quarter mile up the road. As for Fred, he was able to get away from the wreckage safely. But yesterday wasn’t the first time cops were outside the 4300 block of Kasson Road.

Neighbor Rick Guy:

“On Monday morning when I was driving to work at about 9 a.m. my wife and I noticed 10 sheriff’s deputy cars parked right here and I’ve never seen that many police cars at any one location. We don’t know any of the details, but I suspect they’re related and I’d be surprised if they’re not.”

Reporter:

Neighbors I spoke to at the scene say the two men knew one another, but whether or not that caused yesterday’s events is not confirmed.

By Dominick Muccilo SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, a car came crashing into a home on the 4300 block of Kasson Rd. in the town of Onondaga. The car was driven by a man who had lit himself on fire before barreling into the house.

The man inside the car was declared dead on the scene and because the Onondaga County Sheriff’s office ruled his death a suicide, we will not release his name. Fred Savier, the man in his 80s whose home was driven into, managed to escape the home without any injuries.

Tire Tracks outside the home
Tire Tracks outside of the home
© 2019 Dominick Muccilo

A neighbor who has lived in the area since 2012, Rick Guy, says that he’s never seen something like this.

“No, in fact, I’ve never seen such a thing as that anywhere and you know, I’ve got a law background and I’m familiar with this kind of thing generally,” Guy said. “It sure seems that there’s a backstory to this whole thing.”

For Guy, it’s something that he noticed earlier in the week that was out of the ordinary.

On Monday morning when I was driving to work at about 9 a.m. my wife and I noticed 10 sheriff’s deputy cars parked right here and I’ve never seen that many police cars at any one location,” Guy said. “We don’t know any of the details, but I suspect they’re related and I’d be surprised if they’re not.”

Neighbors at the scene said off the record the two men knew one another, but whether or not that caused yesterday’s events is not confirmed.

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