A STRANGER has allegedly set a woman on fire at a fuel pump after she refused to hand over money.
Convict Eleanor Crawford, 41, is accused of setting the woman alight at a gas station in St. Petersburg, Florida, while she was filing up her Volvo.
She asked the victim, also 41, if she could borrow her phone and the woman handed it over.
But when she refused to give Crawford any money, the encounter took a terrifying turn.
Crawford then pulled out a lighter and set the gas nozzle alight, police said.
A massive blaze erupted from the pump and the woman and her car were engulfed in flames within seconds.
Nearby witness Scotty Gamling saw the horrifying incident unfold and raced over to help the burning victim and call 911.
The heroic bystander described the scene as a “fireball”.
Scotty had already alerted cops to Crawford in the moments before the attack.
He said he had seen her involved in a dispute across the road that broke out into a fight.
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Officers were already on their way when the gas pump incident occurred.
Cops caught Crawford around 20 minutes after the alleged attack.
They saw the two women were complete strangers and had no personal history before the encounter.
Crawford has a long rap sheet detailing drug and alcohol-related offenses, police said.
Assistant Police Chief Mike Kovacsev said: “I don’t know if alcohol and drugs were involved, but indicative of her history, there might’ve been something that diminished capacity there.
“Why would she even do something like this?”
The victim was rushed to Tampa General Hospital with second-degree burns on her arms and back.
She is expected to survive.
Kovacsev said: “It’s kind of a unique case because you don’t see anything like this, especially something that results in such horrific burns.
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“Luckily they were able to get her stabilized, and she’s going to make it.”
Crawford now faces attempted felony murder and arson charges and the investigation continues.