A 41-year-old Florida woman faces attempted felony murder charges after she allegedly ignited a gas pump nozzle with a lighter, engulfing a stranger in flames at a St. Petersburg station, all because the victim refused to hand over cash.
Eleanor Crawford approached the victim, Christine Sherbuk, while Sherbuk was fueling her Volvo SUV at a Mobil gas station in St. Petersburg. Crawford first asked to borrow Sherbuk's phone. Sherbuk handed it over. Crawford then asked for money. Sherbuk said no. Within moments, police say, Crawford pulled out a lighter and set the gas nozzle on fire.
A massive blaze erupted from the pump. Sherbuk and her car were engulfed in flames within seconds. A nearby witness, Scotty Gamling, described the scene as a "fireball."
The two women were complete strangers. Police say they had no prior personal history before the encounter, no dispute, no grudge, no connection. Crawford simply wanted money, and when she didn't get it, she allegedly tried to burn another human being alive at a gas pump.
Gamling had noticed Crawford before the attack. He had observed her across the road from the gas station, involved in a dispute that broke out into a fight. Concerned, he alerted police. Officers were already en route to the area when Crawford walked to the Mobil station and allegedly committed the attack.
After the flames erupted, Gamling raced over to help Sherbuk and called 911. Police arrested Crawford approximately 20 minutes later.
Sherbuk sustained second-degree burns on her arms and back. She was transported to Tampa General Hospital in serious but stable condition. Assistant Police Chief Mike Kovacsev said she is expected to survive.
"Luckily they were able to get her stabilized, and she's going to make it."
Kovacsev called the case unlike anything he had seen before.
"It's kind of a unique case because you don't see anything like this, especially something that results in such horrific burns."
Crawford was not an unknown figure to law enforcement. Police described her as having a long rap sheet detailing drug and alcohol-related offenses. Fox News reported that Crawford was charged with attempted felony murder and two counts of arson and is being held on $350,000 bond.
Kovacsev stopped short of confirming whether Crawford was under the influence at the time of the alleged attack but pointed to her history.
"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?"
That question, why, is the one police are still working to answer. The investigation remains ongoing. It is unclear whether toxicology results have been obtained or whether Crawford has been formally arraigned.
What makes this case stand apart is not just the severity of the injuries but the sheer randomness of the alleged crime. Sherbuk was doing something millions of Americans do every day, filling up her car. She even showed kindness to Crawford by lending her phone. The refusal to hand over cash was the only provocation, if it can even be called that.
The New York Post reported that police consider the attack entirely unprovoked, with Crawford and Sherbuk having no prior relationship of any kind. Both women are 41 years old. One was pumping gas. The other, according to authorities, tried to set her on fire.
Crawford now sits in custody on a $350,000 bond, facing charges that could put her away for decades. Sherbuk is recovering in a hospital burn unit. Gamling, the witness who stepped in to help and had already flagged Crawford's behavior to police, may well have saved Sherbuk's life by getting first responders to the scene faster.
Ordinary people should be able to pump gas without risking their lives. When a repeat offender with a documented history of drug and alcohol crimes is free to walk up to a stranger and allegedly commit an act this dangerous, the system that left her on the street owes the public an explanation.
