This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
A South Los Angeles man apparently burned to death inside of his van this morning while trying to illegally siphon gas from a service station.
City News Service is reporting that authorities arrived at the grisly scene at 6:30 this morning. After putting out the fire, they found the body of the man in the driver's seat, CNS reports.
The man was later identified as Richard Glover, who would regularly steal the gas when he was low on money. Family members told CBS 2 that he has been burned before and they pleaded with him not to go out again.
Based on a kind of crude pump that was attached to an underground tank, it is believed Glover was trying to steal gasoline from the tank at a 76 station in the area when a spark was ignited inside of the van, causing it to burst into flames.
A security guard witnessed the blast and said the explosion shot a fireball ten feet into the air, breaking a nearby window, CBS 2 reports.
Authorities are trying to figure out what exactly sparked the explosion.
