A Texas man set fire to his pickup truck next to a set of gas pumps at a Buc-ee’s in Freeport this week. Drone footage shows what the scene looked like Monday night. 

A Texas man set fire to his pickup truck parked next to a set of gas pumps at a Buc-ee’s in Freeport this week and threw punches at bystanders who tried to extinguish the fire, witnesses say. 

“I ain’t going to lie to you,” said Michael Jackson Jr., who lives in Freeport and was at Buc-ee’s late Monday when it happened. “I tried to help put it out and the dude swung at me and wouldn’t let me put it out. He kind of nicked me.” 

A drone video captured Monday night by another bystander shows a white pickup truck engulfed in flames at the Buc-ee’s at Brazosport and Gulf Boulevard. Black smoke billows up to the overhang and the iconic beaver logo. The video does not show the encounter described by witnesses and local media reports. 

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The 38-year-old Freeport man set fire to his white 2008 Toyota Tacoma with at least two gallons of gasoline just after midnight, according to the Facts, a publication that covers Brazoria County, which is just south of Houston. The man, whose name was not released, is recovering from burns at a Houston hospital.

The Express-News reached out to the Freeport Police Department for comment. 

Freeport Police Lt. Corey Brinkman told local media that a bystander and a police officer tried to confront the man. The suspect was hit twice by tasers before being taken into custody, the Facts reported. 

It’s unclear why the man set fire to his pickup truck, according to the Facts. The man reportedly gave a Freeport address but had a Wisconsin driver’s license. 

Freeport Fire Chief Chris Motley told local media that safety mechanisms within gas pumps prevented the fire from becoming worse.  Jesse Gonzalez, a Freeport DJ who works at the Port of Freeport, was driving home from work when he saw the burning truck. 

Gonzalez lives a block away from Buc-ee’s and went home to get his drone to capture video footage. He posted the 2-minute video on his Facebook page on Monday. 

“I thought it was an accident,” Gonzalez told the Express-News. “I heard explosion-like sounds.”

Standing about 1,500 feet away, Gonzalez said he didn’t learn what happened until the next morning. 

As for Jackson, a former pee-wee football coach in Lake Jackson, he jumped in when he noticed that Buc-ee’s employees didn’t. 

“I jumped into action, grabbed the fire extinguisher and told the employees to shut off the main switch because she froze up,” Jackson said. “Somebody had to jump into action, if not the whole place would blow up.” 

Timothy Fanning is a digital reporter for the San Antonio Express-News.