Greenfield police seek several suspects after car stolen in Milwaukee found engulfed in flames
GREENFIELD -- Greenfield police are seeking several suspects after a car was spotted fully engulfed in flames early Thursday, July 28th. That car was reported stolen in Milwaukee on Monday.
Video shared with FOX6 News shows the car in flames nearly from bumper to bumper. The fire was so big, it was impossible for Dominick Knackert to ignore.
Car fire on Highway 100 at Howard in Greenfield
"I was up in my office, working on some paperwork and off the reflection of the window, I saw a large fire so I ran down and, just in the nick of time, saw two guys running down the road and they got picked up by another car," Knackert said.
The car was found shortly after midnight Thursday near Highway 100 and Howard.
As the fire burned, a would-be Good Samaritan approached with a fire extinguisher, and Knackert told him to get away.
Dominick Knackert
"I didn`t know if it was gonna blow up or not -- but I knew that fire extinguisher was way too little for that fire," Knackert said.
"We would discourage that. There`s actually quite a few safety hazards when it comes to burning cars. Obviously the glass, the gas tanks, the tires, there`s even some compressed pistons in some bumpers that can explode," Greenfield Police Sgt. Robert Austin said.
Greenfield police say once the fire was out, they determined the car had been stolen in Milwaukee.
Greenfield Police Sgt. Robert Austin
"The license plate was actually covering up another license plate and we determined the vehicle was actually stolen through that license plate," Sgt. Austin said.
Officials believe several suspects were in the car -- a 1997 silver Honda Civic. They are described as being possibly in their late teens or early 20s.
Witnesses say the people in the car were driving recklessly prior to the fire. After the fire, they apparently jumped into another vehicle and sped off.
Car fire on Highway 100 at Howard in Greenfield
"They were seen fleeing that vehicle and leaving the scene in a separate vehicle," Sgt. Austin said.
Greenfield police say they are not sure how the fire started -- but they are investigating it as an arson.
"It appears at this time that the passenger compartment was on fire. Your typical car fire starts in the engine compartment. At this point, we don`t know what started the fire though," Sgt. Austin said.
Debris left behind after car fire on Highway 100 at Howard in Greenfield
Meanwhile, Milwaukee police say the car was stolen sometime between 7:00 p.m. Monday, July 25th and Tuesday, July 26th near 10th and Dakota.
Debris left behind after car fire on Highway 100 at Howard in Greenfield
Anyone with information that could help police in this case is asked to give them a call.
Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this developing story.