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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.
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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 Fox 13 Tampa Bay he was parked nearby when the violence erupted and raced to help Sherbuk as flames swallowed her vehicle.
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Gramling helped the injured woman into his truck and called 911. He described what he witnessed as a “fireball.”
Moments earlier, Gramling said, he had called the police non-emergency line after seeing Crawford involved in some kind of altercation across the street. It appeared someone was trying to pull her out of the roadway before a fight broke out, he told the outlet.
Officers were already heading to that disturbance when the gas station attack unfolded, according to the outlet.
Police caught Crawford a couple of blocks away within about 20 minutes. The arrest affidavit says multiple witnesses saw her ignite the gasoline and that the incident was captured on video.
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Crawford and Sherbuk did not know each other, investigators said. Authorities have not identified a motive.
“I don’t know if alcohol and drugs were involved, but indicative of her history, there might’ve been something that diminished capacity there,” Assistant Police Chief Mike Kovacsev told Fox 13. “Why would she even do something like this?”
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Police said Crawford has an extensive record that includes several 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.”
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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.
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