Bouncer at Port St. Lucie bar set on fire, flown to Miami hospital

Police searching for man who threw gasoline on bouncer, set him on fire

MIAMI – A man is accused of tossing gasoline on a Port St. Lucie bar bouncer and then setting him on fire.

Port St. Lucie police Sgt. Frank Sabol said the man had been paying with bounced checks and was told Sunday night that he would have to pay with cash or a debit card. Unable to pay, the man tried to earn money by challenging other patrons at the pool tables, so the bouncer at Neely's Grog House kicked him out, Sabol said.

Sabol said the man returned with a cup of gasoline and threw it on the bouncer, who was standing by the door.

The bouncer and a patron chased the man, tackling him in the parking lot. That's when the man used a lighter to set the bouncer on fire.

Police are searching for the man, who got away in a pickup truck.

The bouncer, who is the husband of the bartender who told the man to pay by cash or card, was taken to a hospital with severe burns. He was later flown to the burn center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.

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