St. Petersburg woman Bonnie Eaton fights off carjacker with cup of hot coffee, police say

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A St. Petersburg woman used a cup of hot coffee to defend herself from an armed carjacker, police said.

Bonnie Eaton, 60, was leaving the 7-11 convenience store on 31st Street South, with a cup of coffee and a donut Sunday morning when a man with a knife approached her from behind and demanded the keys to Eaton's car, police said.

"The woman turned around and threw her hot coffee on the man, apparently stunning him," said St. Petersburg police spokesman Mike Puetz. "He sat down in her car for a moment and tried to start the car before realizing there were no keys in the car."

The suspect managed to run away with Eaton's purse and throw it into a creek across the street.

A witness saw the suspect and retrieved the purse and returned it to Eaton, Puetz said.

"The victim was not hurt," Puetz said. "We're not sure how badly burned the suspect was. He ran away."