burning car
A California man was charged with a DUI over the weekend after trying to spark a cigarette with his burning vehicle. Firefighters are pictured putting out a car fire on July 4, 2018 in Nantes, France. Sebastien Salom Gomis/Getty Images

A California man suspected of drunk driving tried lighting his cigarette using the flames from his burning car after it collided with another vehicle over the weekend.

The suspect, Robert Quigley, 25, rear-ended an SUV on Sunday afternoon that had stopped in traffic on Interstate 80, the Sacramento Bee reported, citing the California Highway Patrol traffic incident information page. Quigley, at the time of the crash, had been driving up to 80 mph.

A witness reportedly informed officials that a shirtless Quigley returned to his burning car to light his cigarette before singeing off part of his eyebrow in the process, Amy Walker with the CHP told Fox 40.

"Yeah, I’m not afraid of fire. I deal with this kind of stuff all the time," Quigley later told the officer at the scene, according to the outlet.

An officer with the CHP saw the burning car in traffic and tried to help. While doing so, he saw Quigley change seats with a female passenger. Quigley later confessed to the officer that he had been behind the wheel during the accident.

The sedan went up in flames after the collision, which possibly severed the fuel line causing gas to escape and catch fire, according to the Sacramento Bee. Walker said Quigley sustained a burn on his neck from his seatbelt. No one else was injured.

Once the fire settled, officials towed away Quigley’s sedan. The SUV sustained moderate damage and was also towed. The crash is still under investigation.

Quigley was charged on suspicion of driving under the influence. This was the second time he has been arrested for a DUI. Last week, the Grass Valley CHP pulled him over on a separate incident.

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