His girlfriend left his house ‘mad about something’; then he saw his car on fire

The back seat of a Cadillac was set on fire Saturday morning on St. Helena Island following what was apparently a heated exchange between a man and his girlfirend that ended with the car’s owner driving the flaming vehicle down the road.

The man told deputies his girlfriend left his Eddings Point Road home “mad about something” shortly after 9:30 a.m., according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report. Before she left, he said he saw her pour a bottle of perfume into the back seat of his Cadillac DTS while holding paper and a lighter in her other hand, but said he was intially not concerned.

That changed 20 minutes later, when he smelled smoke and looked outside to see the back seat in flames, according to the report. His house didn’t have a hose, so he got into the burning car and drove it a few doors down to his mother’s house to put out the fire and have her call 911.

The car was “heavily burnt in the rear, with the bumper guard totally melted off in one area and a large amount of damage to the surrounding areas,” according to the report.

No arrests have been and the investigation is ongoing, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. Bob Bromage said Monday.

This story was originally published February 13, 2017 at 4:05 PM with the headline "His girlfriend left his house ‘mad about something’; then he saw his car on fire."