DALLAS — Not even veteran police can comprehend the crime that happened Friday morning on a busy street in South Dallas.

Lawanda Taylor, 44, was waiting for a bus in the 2300 block of Hatcher when she was robbed of $24 and her wedding ring.

But what happened next is disturbing.

"He asked her to get on the ground," said Dallas police Senior Cpl. Kevin Janse. "And as she was kneeling down on the ground, she felt some liquid being poured on her."

"She said she closed her eyes and heard a flick," said Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedic Patrick Anderson Jr. "After that, she felt burning all over."

Taylor had been set ablaze on the side of the street.

"She was already on the ground, so she was able to roll around and put the flames out," Janse said. "She immediately got up and ran to a fire station to seek medical help."

Anderson encountered Taylor as she arrived at Fire Station 44. "She was just screaming for pain, saying that her neck was hurting and her chest was burning," he said.

Taylor was reported in satisfactory condition at the Parkland Memorial Hospital burn unit on Saturday.

Unfortunately, the man who robbed Taylor and set her on fire slipped away on the busy street unnoticed.

"I've been on the job 17 years and I've not seen a robbery like this; this is out of the ordinary," Janse said.

E-mail jwhitely@wfaa.com