As horrified Friday-morning commuters watched, a man apparently doused himself with gasoline and lit himself on fire along the Kennedy Expy. near a 25-foot-tall Loop sculpture titled "Flame of the Millennium."

A homemade sign was found near his charred body that read, "Thou Shalt Not Kill," said State Police Lt. Lincoln Hampton. Police are reviewing a videotape that also was found near the body.

The death of the man, whose identity has not been released, was being treated as a suicide, authorities said.

Witnesses told police they saw the man ignite himself just before 7 a.m. near the southbound Kennedy's Ohio Street exit, Hampton said.

The Chicago Fire Department was called to the scene to help extinguish the fire, which was set at the base of the seven-ton sculpture along the Kennedy.

An Illinois Department of Transportation worker was among those to witness the incident, according to a preliminary report.

A can of clear liquid smelling like gasoline also was recovered, the report said.

Related Article(s): Man sets himself on fire on Kennedy, Protesting Iraq war, a Chicago man sets self on fire and dies, Malachi Ritscher's apparent suicide,

Read what people are saying about this article...