Georgia woman, 'friend to everyone,' hospitalized after toxic chemical attack by random stranger

A Georgia woman was hospitalized with severe burns after being randomly attacked with acid by a stranger in a Savannah park on Wednesday night. She had second as well as third degree burns over half her body. 

46-year-old Ashley Wasielewski was walking around Forsyth Park after attending a Christmas program at a nearby church when a stranger approached her from behind and poured an acidic liquid over her head. The substance burned through her clothing and skin and was so corrosive that it melted her car key fob, which was in her pocket. Nothing was stolen and the attacker fled the scene.

“She was instantly like, ‘Why are you pouring water on me?’ And then her skin started to burn,” her friend Connor Milam explained, according to the New York Post. “She looked down and her pants were starting to burn off her body. She started screaming. They didn’t rob her. They didn’t take anything from her. This was a random person in the park who went out of their way to disfigure another human being.”

Wasielewski was transported to the Augusta Burn Center, where she is being treated for second and third-degree burns to her face, scalp, hands, and legs. Her son, Westley, said he learned about the attack after a bystander stopped to help his mother and called him while she was screaming in pain. He said that the burns covered half of her body. 

“We don’t know who did it,” Westley said. “She doesn’t have any enemies. She is a friend to everyone.”

Law enforcement officials are working to identify a suspect. A person of interest was identified as a man with dark skin wearing jeans and a dark hoodie. Additional patrols have been stationed in city parks as the investigation continues.

“Our Police Department is treating this case with the highest urgency,” said Savannah Mayor Van Johnson in a post on Facebook. “While this attack is deeply troubling, there is currently no information indicating a broader or ongoing threat to the public.”