Search on for at least one person in Molotov cocktail attack on truck with man inside in Harlem
HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) -- Police are on the hunt for at least one person they say is responsible for throwing a Molotov cocktail into a truck while a man was still inside early Monday morning in Manhattan.
53-year-old Javier Sanchez says he had fallen asleep in his truck while waiting for a parking spot on West 112th Street in Harlem at approximately 4 a.m. when he awoke to see a man beside his vehicle.
"I saw one guy holding a plastic container," Sanchez said. "And the plastic container was in flames."
That man threw the container through the open passenger side window, which prompted Sanchez to race around to the other side of the truck.
"I opened the passenger front door and I was trying to put out the fire and I grabbed the container and threw it out," Sanchez said.
But it was too late as the truck became engulfed in flames.
Citizen app video shows firefighters showing up to put water on the fire, but after it was put out, the truck was a burned out hull, with exploded tires from the heat and the windshield, even the steering wheel melted and the seats consumed.
"Seeing this car on fire, it was unbelievable," a witness said. "The fire was burning hot, it was windy so the blaze was really igniting, it was something else."
"It was scary because we thought the car was going to explode," another witness said.
Sanchez says he saw two men at the scene, but didn't recognize either of them.
Police are investigating.
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