Eyewitness Recalls Fatal Walmart Van Fire

It was an unprecedented event for Toms River. A 49-year-old Ocean County man drove his 2005 Ford van to an empty section of the Route 37 parking lot on May 2, quickly setting it on fire and getting back in the driver's seat.

In the days following the incident, Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastonardy said he could not recall an event of this type. Toms River Fire Companies No. 1 and 2 extinguished the flames but the man died in what was .

For 25-year-old Michael Jump, a Toms River resident and eyewitness to the incident, the evening started out just as many others had before. He and a friend of his were bored and decided to go to Walmart to possibly buy a movie or two and hang out after a day of work.

"You know that noise where the gas is running on a stove and you light it with a match? That 'whoosh' kind of sound? It sounded like that but on a huge scale," said Jump, who heard the van catch fire as he stepped out of the store. "Nothing was happening when I walked out the door, and then his van ignited."

what was an unassuming van parked in an open section of the parking lot was now a blazing vehicle. People quickly took notice of the flames and began taking photos, walking closer to inspect the vehicle or calling 911. Jump was one of those witnesses who called it in to the emergency services.

"When I called 911, the operator asked if there was anyone in the van. To me, it was impossible to see if there was anyone in it. The flames were shooting out of the sides," said Jump.

burned through the van and the wait for help to arrive continued, people were still intrigued with what was happening. Jump recalled people getting as close as they could to try and get a better look, regardless of the flames now billowing out of the sides of the van.

"People were literally pulling their cars up and parking in the lanes (near the van) and looking at the fire," said Jump. "They were coming across the parking lot to park their cars and watch it on fire."

It was not until the next day that Jump heard of the news that a man had taken his own life in that very same van.

"You have to ask the question, though. Why do it like that? Why do it at all?"

Several readers wrote into Patch expressing their shock at the incident, which when the store as well as two fast food restaurants on the lot were open.

One, a Walmart employee who asked to remain nameless, said that about a week after the incident coworkers still had it on their minds. "You walk through the parking lot and remember and point 'that's where it happened.'"