A Kansas man decided to take a loss on his van rather than explain to his insurance company how he accidentally set it ablaze while full of ammunition.

“It seems like he’s just going to have to take a loss on that vehicle because I don’t think they’re going to cover it,” Jon Bazzano, spokesman for the Clay County Sheriff’s Office told the Kansas City Star.

The unidentified man was burning garbage in a field along Old State Highway 210 south of Liberty Tuesday when it got out of hand. The man apparently thought he’d simply put it out by driving his minivan back and forth over the blaze, but soon realized that was a very bad idea.

“This made matters worse, as the tires of the van caught fire,” according to the news site. “Realizing that the van was loaded with firearms ammunition and a full tank of gas, the driver evacuated the area for safety.”

The black smoke on the horizon caught the eye of a Clay County sheriff’s deputy who was in the area for a traffic stop, and the deputy responded to the scene to find the live ammunition going off inside the van. The deputy eventually found the owner watching his van burn from a distance, according to KCTV 5.

“A crew from the Liberty Fire Department responded to make sure the fire did not spread,” the Star reports. “It was unclear what type of ammunition the owner had inside the vehicle.”

The owner opted not to file a police report for a potential insurance claim, and police opted not to cite the man for his dangerously boneheaded decisions.

The incident, of course, sparked plenty of comments online.

“I would like to nominate this man for this year’s Darwin awards,” Alan Tennyson posted to Facebook. “However, since he failed to go down (or up) with the ship, he may not be eligible.”

“If this is a sign of our education system, I think it’s sufficient evidence to put more money in our schools,” Ilia Bauer wrote.

“Wonder why he had a van full of guns and ammo in the first place?” Lee W. Price posted to Raw Story.

“I wonder how much evidence was also destroyed in the fire,” daveygravey wrote.

Most of those who posted either made some sort of connection to gun control or simply made fun of the fellow for being not so smart.

“’Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.’ – Attrib. to Albert Einstein,” AlexanderTheGoodEnough wrote. “This looks like it could be next month’s cover of Guns & Ammo magazine.”

“’Show me’ some intelligence, Missouri,” my way added.

“Ah, the good old ‘show me’ state,” KufPu commented. “As in show me what an imbecile you are.”

“One of those, ‘It seemed like a good idea at the time. I really thought it would work,’” irrefudiate posted. “Who hasn’t ‘been there done that’?”