A Thousand Oaks man committed suicide Tuesday near Camarillo, authorities said.

Deputies found Bruce Czernek, 50, in a burning parked car at 1:30 a.m., Tues., Nov. 3 on Fifth Street, one-half mile south of Pleasant Valley Road, in an unincorporated area of Ventura County just outside Camarillo, said Sgt. Dave Murray of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

The body was burned beyond recognition.The identification of Czernek was confirmed through the vehicle’s registration and an examination by the Ventura County coroner’s office.

Armando Chavez, Ventura County senior deputy medical examiner, said Czernek died from asphyxiation from smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Czernek’s death was determined to be a suicide, he said.

Murray said deputies suspected Czernek had committed suicide after finding a flammable substance in the truck.

On Monday, the sheriff’s department went to Czernek’s Thousand Oaks home after receiving a call from one of his former co-workers who was concerned about his well-being.

A mental health crisis team spent two hours performing “an in-depth evaluation” on Czernek’s mental state but found he wasn’t a danger to himself at the time, Murray said.

“Any time you have a free will and answer questions right . . . you can’t determine what the outcome will be, but we did everything by the numbers,” Murray said.

Czernek lived with his mother, was divorced and had no children, authorities said.

—Michelle Knight