A 19-year-old man suffered significant burns after being set alight while sitting in his car on the Gold Coast, Queensland police have confirmed. Samuel Reeve was doused with fuel from his own vehicle before the fire started, according to investigators.
The incident occurred on Sunday morning on a Southport street. Reeve ran from his car into Wardoo Street while on fire, where local resident Sammie Wilson used a garden hose to assist him. Wilson initially believed it was a random road rage attack, but police have ruled that out.
Detective Acting Inspector Mark Procter stated that the fire began inside the car and that the fuel used came from within the vehicle. Reeve is in an induced coma at a Brisbane hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, listed in serious but stable condition.
Police are seeking witnesses and have not ruled out the possibility of a second person being in the car. They also have not dismissed the possibility that the injuries were self-inflicted. The motive and circumstances remain unclear.
In an unrelated incident on Sunday night, a woman was splashed with petrol during a domestic disturbance in Carrara. No complaints were made, but a carjacking by two men of Pacific Islander appearance, believed to be armed with a shotgun, is under investigation.
