Man burned in Springfield gas-pump fire has died

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Springfield fire officials say a 55-year-old man who was burned while filling up at a Springfield gas station last month has died.

The department said Thursday that Chad Richards died Dec. 2, after spending more than two weeks in a hospital burn unit in Springfield.

Richards was injured Nov. 15 at a Kum & Go station when a spark ignited gasoline fumes.

Fire officials said in a news release investigators were unable to determine what caused the spark. A possible cause was static electricity.

At the time of the accident, witnesses said Richards tried to run from the pump and was burned nearly from head to toe. People in the parking lot used blankets and a fire extinguisher to try and help him.