KNOXVILLE (WATE) - Police said a paraplegic Knoxville man was badly burned Thursday morning when he caught himself on fire in his apartment.
The man's name is being withheld until his family is notified.
Officers responded to a call about the man at 8:51 a.m. at Knob Hill Apartments on Wilson Road. He was on the ground in the parking lot being treated by paramedics with Rural/Metro and the fire department when officers arrived.
Police said the victim is mentally handicapped and lives by himself. He has a case worker though Adult Protective Services.
The man told them he was trying to clean his stove, but he forgot that he had turned on a burner. When he reached across it, he caught his shirt on fire.
The man went into the parking lot in his wheelchair. Another resident of the apartment complex put him on the ground, put out the fire and called 911.
The victim was taken to UT Medical Center with second and third degree burns on his right arm and back. Police said his case worker has been notified, and they will do a follow up investigation due to the nature of his injuries.
The incident happened at Knob Hill Apartments on Wilson Road.
