Man dies in West Side car fire

Brownsville police received a frantic call early Saturday morning to report a car on fire in West Brownsville.

When firefighters and police officers arrived at the 700 block of Alex Lane shortly before 1:30 a.m., they found a 1989 Mercury Grand Marquis on fire. Inside the car they found a man who had died from multiple burns, said Fire Marshal Ben Nuñez.

“The fire appears to have originated in the engine compartment and made its way to the passenger compartment of the vehicle,” he said. “It appears to have been parked on the side of the road.”

Justice of the Peace Tony Torres pronounced the man dead. His name was not being released Saturday afternoon by Brownsville police.

The Marquis was impounded and fire investigators will continue to work the case early next week, Nuñez said.

“We will continue with our investigation and (will) determine a cause sometime early next week,” he said.

Sgt. Juan Lopez, a supervisor with Brownsville police’s Criminal Investigations Division, said he did not think foul play was involved, adding his investigators would also be working the case along with the fire department to determine an exact cause.