Son soaks mom in gasoline, tries to light her on fire until stranger steps in, cops say

A stranger stepped in when he realized a woman needed help, Colorado officials said.

Ashton Miller was working at a construction site when the woman “frantically pulled her vehicle into his job site,” according to a Dec. 16 Facebook post by the Commerce City Police Department.

The woman told Miller her son, who was in the vehicle with her, doused her in gasoline and was trying to light her on fire, police said.

“He had a hold of her jacket, and then he had a lighter in his left hand and was attempting to strike it,” Miller told 9 News. “She was yelling, ‘Don’t let him near me. I’ve got gas all over me. He poured gas on me.’”

Miller, who has a gun license, held the man at gunpoint until officers arrived, police said.

“Once he realized that I had a firearm, he started to listen and calmed down,” Miller, a former security guard, told 9 News. “He laid down on the ground and I had the site foreman grab handcuffs out of my truck so we could handcuff him.”

The woman escaped the chaos uninjured, officials said.

The man, who police didn’t identify, was booked into Adams County Jail and faces attempted murder and assault charges, police said.

Commerce City is about 10 miles northeast of Denver.

This story was originally published December 21, 2023 at 7:42 AM with the headline "Son soaks mom in gasoline, tries to light her on fire until stranger steps in, cops say."