Man who set himself on fire linked to Ohio homicide

CLEVELAND — A man who stepped into traffic and then set himself on fire in an apparent suicide attempt has been connected to a woman found dead in a Cleveland home, authorities said.

Hugo Ramos, who was in critical condition at a Cleveland hospital, is a homicide suspect in the death of a 25-year-old woman, Cleveland police said Tuesday. Her name and cause of death have not yet been released. Ramos, 28, told officers where her body could be found.

Officers forced their way into a home shortly before 3 p.m. and found the body.

Ramos pulled his car to the side of U.S. Route 20 in Lorain County, about 35 miles west of Cleveland, around 10:50 a.m. Monday with three small children inside, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said. Ramos then stepped in front of a large truck and was struck, authorities said. After that, he managed to get up and retrieve from his car a container filled with what authorities believe was gasoline.

Ramos swallowed some of the gas, poured the remainder on his clothes and set himself on fire as the children sat in the car, investigators said. A bystander rushed over and put out the fire. Ramos was flown to the Cleveland hospital where he was under police guard on Tuesday.

The children, whose ages were not released, were not injured.