Authorities say a Massachusetts gas station worker doused himself with gasoline, set himself on fire and ran but was tackled by a police officer who extinguished the flames.

The Essex District Attorney's office says the unidentified 24-year-old man was at the Newbury gas where he works Saturday afternoon when he set himself afire.

The police officer who responded initially tried to put the fire out with an extinguisher, but the man ran away. Prosecutors say the officer managed to tackle him to the ground and extinguish the flames.

The man is in critical condition at a Boston hospital. The officer has been released from a hospital and is expected to be OK.

Authorities did not say why the man set himself on fire.