Joseph Kromelis: Chicago's ‘Walking Man,’ 75, dies months after being doused with gasoline and set ablaze

Soon after the gruesome episode, Kromelis was rushed to a hospital, where he reportedly spent months before being shifted to a rehab center in September. Dr Joshua Carson, Director of Loyola Medicine's Burn Center, had said at that time, “When people survive these burn injuries, unlike a lot of other traumatic injuries, burn injuries take a distinctly long and arduous process to treat and recover from.”

The doctor added, “Burns that large are incredibly toxic to the body so the thing about them is that the burn being there makes the patient sick, and then you have to remove them. When you do that you leave the patient without some critical organ function, And that makes a patient very vulnerable to infection and to other kinds of complications. We have to hope for the best for the man - he is on a very long path.”

A GoFundMe was launched for Kromelis by two people, Fanny Escobar and Jasmine Gonzalez, with a message that read, “This poor guy has had many rough moments but has always managed to smile. Despite all the hard times this man has had he has never pressed any charges on those who have hurt him. This man who truly deserves a better life needs us. I ask that you donate what you can so when Joseph is released from the hospital he doesn’t have to return and sleep on the streets. I encourage you to find it in your heart to share this post and donate. Every dollar counts. Thank you Chicago.”

Meanwhile, it seemed that Kromelis had reportedly had a difficult past few years. Six years before the fire incident, he was reportedly mercilessly beaten on Lower Wacker Drive near Lake Shore Drive, which sent him to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Michael Parks Sr, who knew the old man had said in 2016 as reported by Los Angeles Times, “That guy doesn’t bother anybody. I’ve never seen him in an argument. If somebody said something [negative] to him, he would just walk away. I don’t like to see the people who don’t do anything to anybody get hurt.”