Suffolk Cop Saves Suicidal Man From Burning Car in Stony Brook

A Suffolk County Police officer saved a man who lit himself on fire in an attempt to commit suicide in a Stony Brook parking lot Wednesday night, police said.

According to police, Sixth Precinct Police Officer Matthew Merced, assisting Sixth Squad detectives, located a 42-year-old Centereach man in the parking lot of the AMC Loews movie theater, located at 2150 Nesconset Highway around 11:23 p.m.

Merced spoke briefly with the man, who had been reported missing earlier in the evening, and then contacted a family member regarding his location.

When the family member arrived, the man re-entered his vehicle, poured a flammable liquid on his lap and then lit a match, police said.

Merced pulled the man through the passenger door of the vehicle as the passenger compartment became fully engulfed in flames, police said.

When he was removed from the vehicle, the lower portion of the man’s body was on fire, police said.

Merced extinguished the man’s clothing by rolling the man on the ground and smothering the flames with a sweatshirt, police said.

The man was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of his burns and further evaluation. Merced suffered injuries to his shoulder and arm and was treated and released from Stony Brook.

Photos by Dan Pignataro