Well Known Elderly Homeless Man Is Set Of Fire As He Slept On The Streets Of Chicago, Now Clinging To Life

RIVER NORTH — The famed “Walking Man” who treks the streets of Downtown with flowing gray hair and a steady stride, is in critical condition with severe burns over much of his body after someone doused him with a flammable liquid and set him on fire in River North.

Joseph Kromelis, 75, suffered burns over 65 percent of body and was taken to Northwestern Memorial hospital following the 2:50 a.m. Wednesday attack in the 400 block of lower North Wabash Avenue, where Kromelis was laying on the ground, officials said.

A police source told the Sun-Times that “we were just told he’s most likely to die.”

A man attacked him and ran off. A nearby security guard used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire and help the victim, police said. He was identified through the medications he was carrying, the Sun-Times reported.

Police said the attacker fled to the CTA Blue Line, where surveillance video captured images of him. Authorities said he wore a black and white Hoodrich jacket with a hood and gray sandals. He is described as a tall man, with medium-light complexion.