Smoker accidentally lights sweatshirt on fire, burns himself

EASTON, Pa. – Police say a man accidentally lit his hooded sweatshirt on fire while smoking outside a Pennsylvania mall and badly burned himself.

Palmer Township police say it happened Tuesday evening outside the Palmer Park Mall near Easton.

They say the man was either walking or hanging around outside the mall when his sweatshirt caught fire. Some people inside the mall saw the fire and ran outside to douse it with water.

By the time police arrived, the man had suffered severe burns to his hands, upper chest and head.

The man was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, where his condition was not immediately available Wednesday.