[Bebe]

PENSACOLA, Fla. (WEAR) — A Pensacola man is in intensive care, recovering from third-degree burns.

On January 31, Caleb Dunn was heading home on I-87 on his motorcycle, when a driver in front of him flicked a cigarette butt out the window.

"Next thing I knew, my side was burning red hot, I could barely keep my hands on the handlebars," said Dunn. "I looked back and I could see orange flames coming out around my neck and around the side of the jacket."

The 24-year-old managed to drive off the road, jump off the bike and unzip his jacket, revealing just shreds of what was his hoodie.

"I don't know how to describe it," said Dunn. "I've never been in so much pain in my life."

Airlifted to the University of South Alabama Medical Center, Dunn is currently in the ICU burn trauma center. Third-degree burns cover 25 percent of his body.

"It wraps around half my chest, all the way down my stomach, all over my bicep and up in my armpit," said Dunn.

"The only thing I did was just pray the whole way there that he was okay," said Dunn's friend, Lindsay Larney.
Larney couldn't believe what happened.

"It's hard to see somebody that you care so much for, laying there in a hospital bed," said Larney.
A freak accident is how she refers to it, but she's got a strong message for smokers:
"Don't flick your cigarette out the window, use your ashtray, use a bottle," said Larney. "It can cause a lot of harm."

Dunn's burned body is now covered in artificial skin called Integra.
"It's helping the healing process and keeping germs and bacteria out," said Larney. "Eventually my body will reject it when it gets to a certain point, and I'll be able to do skin grafts."

Dunn's recovery is just beginning. He will be in the ICU for several more weeks and it will take months before he's allowed to leave the hospital.

[Halogodivix]

What the hell was he covered in? I've put out cigarettes in gasoline before without flames. As a major Pyro, I'm still perplexed...

[Ninjavandal]

Originally Posted by Halogodivix ↗

What the hell was he covered in? I've put out cigarettes in gasoline before without flames. As a major Pyro, I'm still perplexed...

It didn't make sense to me, either, Halogodivix.

[Susan]

Come on guys it was obviously the bat signal

[souris]

has to be more to the story. Fake news!

[kellyhound]

Originally Posted by Halogodivix ↗

What the hell was he covered in? I've put out cigarettes in gasoline before without flames. As a major Pyro, I'm still perplexed...

some bigger graphic pics
https://www.gofundme.com/support-caleb-dunn

He was driving home on 87 (under construction) and the car in front of him flicked out a cigarette and he didn’t see it. One in a million chances, but it landed in his half-zipped ICON motorcycle jacket.

He was feeling hot and next thing he knows he sees bright orange and realizes he’s on fire. Being on a motorcycle fanned the fire and wearing a nylon jacket it was a double accelerant at 40 mph.

He drove into the grassy ditch jumping off, trying to pull off his jacket, dropped and rolled, and then pulled off his helmet and the flaming cotton long-sleeve shirt.
Eyewitnesses saw the whole thing and one of whom was military, stopped and helped. To us 5 strangers are our heroes that night.

Caleb had the wherewithal to turn off his bike and told Mike’s phone number to the girl, then laid on his stomach and passed out. These people kept us informed all the way until we got to the scene.

When we arrived we saw the burned circle smoldering from his shirt and the only thing left was the cuff. Everywhere we looked were lights of first responders doing what they do to treat our son as we had to stay on the sidelines.

The bystanders formed a line to search for his phone, so we could stay with the scene and it was finally found about 100 feet back from the scene. These people stayed with us through the whole ordeal.

The medics life-flighted him to USA Medical Burn Center in Mobile, Alabama.

[GRiZ]

Did he shower in gasoline before he drove his car? How tf does a cigarette do that?

[Bletch]

I see morons flicking their cigarettes out of their car windows quite often. Glad he made it, horrific burns though

[Wren]

Just google imaged integra artificial skin. Was not disappointed.

[spudigitti]

I was in school with a guy that torched himself while he was filling a lawnmower with petrol, he was smoking a cigarette and boom.
I bumped into him like 20 years after what had happened to him, and he was still struggling with the events of that day.
I regret not being able to comfort him more !!