Darrell Leonard Brackett is in critical condition after he received burns over most of his body following a visit to a gas station Tuesday night, his mother said Wednesday.
Bridgett Brackett called the situation "heartbreaking."
"Right now it’s touch and go. He’s burned over 70 percent of his body – 70 percent of his body," she said. "And like I said, it’s touch and go for the next three days. We don’t know what the outcome is going to be until the next three days.”
Bridgett Brackett said her son was burned from his thighs to the top of his head.
Miami-Dade Police said that Darrell Brackett, 44, was seen running around screaming while on fire shortly after he bought gas at a U Gas at NW 47th Street and NW 27th Avenue late Tuesday night.
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He ran out of gas in the area of NW 49th Street and NW 23rd Avenue in Brownsville, police said. Leaving his girlfriend behind, Brackett walked to the gas station, bought some gas and walked back towards his van, police said.
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But he never made it back to his van. Instead, his family said, he was stopped along the way, attacked, burned and left for dead.
“We heard his last words were why would somebody do this to me? He probably was trying to figure out did he do anything wrong," said his cousin, Sharetta Remikie.
She said she believed Brackett would survive.
"But he is a fighter, he’s a survivor, and we know he’s going to pull through," she said.
He was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center and the incident is under investigation, police said.
Police ask anyone with information on the case to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
