Body found burning in car near Midtown Detroit

DETROIT (WJBK) - Police and firefighters in Detroit are investigating after a body was found burning in a car on the city's west side near Midtown Wednesday morning. 

They were called out for a fire to the 1400 block of Holden, which is near Grand Boulevard and the Lodge Freeway. 

When EMS got to the scene first, police say they saw a person sitting in the driver's seat engulfed in flames. Police say EMS likely pulled the body out in an attempt to save the man's life, but discovered he was deceased. 

The car involved was a red Ford Focus, and police say the victim is a man who appears to be in his mid 30s. Police haven't given any other details about what may have happened. 

"He was severely burned, so he'll be identified by the medical examiner. Right now it's just too early in the investigation to have any details," Detroit Deputy Fire Commissioner David Fornell said.

The call came into Detroit Fire Department about 10 a.m. Construction crews in the area and police from nearby Henry Ford Hospital initially responded to the car fire. Police say firefighters pulled a body from the car.

Surveillance video shows a Good Samaritan with a fire extinguisher from the Michigan Humane Society across the street. They tried to help but it was too late.

"It's too hard to say it could be just a horrible accident. It could be foul play, but again, it's going to have to be investigated - at this particular point we can't tell," Fornell said.

Surveillance from before the fire shows the red Ford Focus driving through the area several times before finally turning onto Trumbull to go behind the building. What happened once behind the building and why it happened is not yet known.

Police say there are no signs he was shot or stabbed.