The victim was stabilized after suffering second-degree burns, while a 41-year-old suspect was arrested nearby and charged.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A bystander rushed toward a burning SUV and helped an injured woman into his truck after police say a stranger deliberately ignited gasoline while the woman was fueling her vehicle at a St. Petersburg station, turning an ordinary evening stop into a medical emergency and an attempted felony murder investigation.
The victim survived the Sept. 10 attack with second-degree burns, according to police, and was taken to Tampa General Hospital. The emergency response became a central part of the account released afterward: a witness moved toward the injured woman, firefighters dealt with the vehicle fire and officers located the accused woman only a few blocks away. Authorities later identified the suspect as Eleanor Crawford, 41, and announced charges of attempted felony murder and arson.
Scotty Gramling told FOX 13 Tampa Bay that he was nearby when the incident happened at the Mobil station at 101 40th Avenue North. He described seeing a sudden burst of flames and said he went to the injured woman, helped her into his vehicle and called 911. His account placed a civilian helper at the center of the first moments after the fire, before the victim was transported for hospital treatment. Police said she had suffered serious burns, later specified by the television station as second-degree burns to her arms and back.
Gramling’s account also showed that police attention had already been drawn to the area. He told FOX 13 that, shortly before the gas-station fire, he had called the non-emergency police line because he saw Crawford involved in an apparent altercation across the street. He said officers were already responding when the fire broke out. Police have not said that the earlier disturbance caused the later encounter at the station, and the circumstances of that reported altercation have not been established as the motive for what followed.
According to the St. Petersburg Police Department, the victim, 41, was pumping gasoline into a Volvo SUV at about 8 p.m. when Crawford approached her. Police said Crawford deliberately ignited gasoline with a lighter. FOX 13, citing police, reported that Crawford had first asked the woman to use her phone. The victim allowed her to use it, after which Crawford asked for money. When the woman declined, police say Crawford set gasoline at the nozzle on fire. The SUV was quickly engulfed.
The two women were not acquainted before the encounter, police said. That fact has left investigators without an obvious personal dispute to explain the alleged attack. Authorities did not announce evidence of a prior relationship, prior argument or planned meeting between them. The victim appears in public police statements only as a 41-year-old woman who had stopped to fuel her vehicle. Some later reports identified her from court records, but police themselves did not name her in the initial release.
Assistant Police Chief Mike Kovacsev said the severity of the victim’s injuries stood out even to investigators accustomed to responding to violent incidents. More important for her immediate condition, he said crews were able to stabilize her and that she was expected to survive. The reports reviewed for this story do not provide a later, detailed medical update or say when she left the hospital. They also do not describe the full course of treatment she may have required after being taken to Tampa General Hospital.
The rapid police response shifted the scene from rescue to investigation. Officers found Crawford a couple of blocks away, according to the Police Department. FOX 13 reported that she was arrested within about 20 minutes. The department’s first public release referred to arson allegations, but officials updated the charges later that morning to attempted felony murder and arson. That change signaled the seriousness with which investigators were treating the injuries and the alleged intentional act.
The charges remain accusations. Police say Crawford deliberately caused the fire, but a criminal prosecution requires the allegations to be addressed through the court process. Later news reports citing Pinellas County records said her bond totaled $350,000. The material reviewed for this story did not establish a final disposition, a trial date or a later court ruling resolving the charges. No public finding of guilt should be inferred from her arrest or the police account.
Investigators have also resisted giving a definitive explanation for Crawford’s alleged behavior. Kovacsev discussed the possibility that substance use or diminished capacity could have played a role, referring to her history, but he made clear that he did not know whether alcohol or drugs were involved that night. No toxicology result or medical evaluation cited in the available reporting confirmed impairment. Police continued to list the motive as unclear.
Reports based on court and jail records noted that Crawford had been arrested in July on allegations of battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer without violence. That earlier arrest occurred weeks before the gas-station case and is separate from it. Although authorities referenced her record while discussing possible explanations, prior allegations do not establish what her mental state was at the Mobil station or prove why the Sept. 10 fire occurred.
The case therefore has two different timelines. The emergency timeline moved quickly: flames, civilian assistance, firefighters, hospital transport and an arrest within a short distance of the scene. The investigative timeline has moved more slowly because the most basic explanatory question remains open. Police have identified the accused woman and described the alleged act, but they have not publicly established why a stranger would approach another stranger at a fuel pump and allegedly ignite gasoline.
For the injured woman, the most consequential confirmed update was that she survived and had been stabilized after suffering second-degree burns. For investigators, the unresolved issue remains motive. St. Petersburg police said the women had no prior relationship, and no later authoritative account reviewed for this story provided a definitive reason for the attack. Crawford continues to face the criminal allegations arising from the fire as the case proceeds through the justice system.
Author note: Last updated October 21, 2026.