A vehicle fire in the parking lot of a Kearney restaurant is being called “suspicious” by authorities.

At around 11:15 p.m., on January 13, the Kearney Police Department and the Kearney Volunteer Fire Department responded to the report of a vehicle on fire in the parking lot of Perkin’s Family Restaurant, 609 2nd Avenue East.

A subject, later identified as Jason Warta, of Gibbon, was observed running from the area.

Authorities say Warta was later located in the Prairie View Apartments area, with severe burns to the lower portion of his body.

Warta was taken to CHI Health Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, and was later transferred to the burn unit of CHI Health Saint Elizabeth in Lincoln.

Police say the vehicle was completely destroyed, and they have deemed the fire’s cause as suspicious in nature.

A Kearney Volunteer Fire Department official told local media that a mobile meth lab was the suspected cause of the fire.

The case is still under investigation.

Warta’s medical condition is unknown, and no charges have been filed at this time.