PD: Suicide attempt suspected after woman sets fire to van in Mesa

MESA, AZ - Three friends are being credited with saving the life of a woman who set fire to a van outside an East Valley gas station Friday afternoon.

Mesa police Det. Steve Berry said the mentally ill woman lit the minivan on fire at a Circle K gas station at Broadway and Dobson roads in a possible suicide attempt.

People pulled the woman out of the van and emergency crews attempted to treat her for her injuries.

"We were walking up there," said Destiny Moore, "when we heard someone screaming, 'There's a fire, there's a fire.'"

Moore, her boyfriend and friend helped get the woman out of the burning vehicle, but it wasn't easy.

"She said, 'You should have just let me die,'" said Moore.

According to Berry, the woman ran away from paramedics and was eventually tracked down several blocks away near Dobson and 8th Avenue.

Berry said the woman will be treated for her burns and undergo a mental evaluation.