Romulus man charged with trying to set girlfriend on fire with gasoline

VAN BUREN TWP., Mich. (WJBK) - A 31-year-old man from Romulus is charged with viciously attacking his girlfriend.

He's accused of dousing her with gasoline and trying to set her on fire.

Karen Pryzdzial was sitting inside Starbucks on Belleville Road when chaos broke out Sunday night in Van Buren Township.

"All of a sudden I noticed a bunch of police cars coming down Belleville Road numerous times," she said. "Five or six cars. We were trying to figure out what was going on."

Police say 31-year-old Frank Stanchulski got into an argument with his girlfriend and doused her with gasoline and tried to set his girlfriend on fire.

But when that failed, police say Stanchulski turned to her car - and torched that instead. His girlfriend  was shaken up, but not injured.

That's when Dorian McKinney pulled out his iPhone and started recording the flames and smoke shooting from the vehicle.

"I was like oh my gosh, what's going on," McKinney said.

Witnesses like Oscar Rodriguez, who were driving by at the time, stopped to see if they could help.

"The car was just engulfed in flames like a scene from a movie," he said. "Everyone was shocked just watching nothing they could do."

At the same time Justin Jammsens, who was working at the BP, noticed a man running through the gas station parking lot and ran down Belleville Road. Police were hot on his trail.

"They asked where he went I told them down the street right across the service drive," he said. "Crazy. I never expected that to happen."

Police tracked Stanchulski down and arrested him. He has been charged with fourth degree arson, assault with intent to do great bodily harm and domestic violence.