A Florida woman pumping gas was engulfed in a fireball after a stranger allegedly walked up and deliberately ignited the fuel with a lighter in a seemingly random attack, police said.
The 41-year-old victim, identified in court records as Christine Sherbuk, was filling her Volvo SUV at a Mobil gas station in St. Petersburg on Thursday night when Eleanor Crawford approached her, according to police and an arrest affidavit.
Crawford, 41, allegedly lit the gasoline at about 8 p.m., setting the SUV ablaze and leaving Sherbuk with second-degree burns to her arms and back.
She was rushed to the trauma center at Tampa General Hospital in serious condition. Police said she was stabilized and is expected to survive.
Scotty Gramling told drug- and alcohol-related charges. Authorities have not said whether she was under the influence at the time of the alleged attack.
"It's kind of a unique case because you don't see anything like this, especially something that results in such horrific burns," Kovacsev said. "But they went out there, they worked with the fire department, and luckily they were able to get her stabilized, and she's going to make it."
Crawford has been charged with attempted felony murder and two counts of arson. She is being held on $350,000 bond while awaiting trial.
A judge ordered her to be fitted with a GPS monitor by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office before her release from jail, court records show.
The case remains under investigation.