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- A 61-year-old woman was blinded after a stranger threw acid on her in front of her home in Philadelphia.
- Helen Jones was headed to her car in the early morning on October 6 when a man wearing a mask threw chlorosulfuric acid on her face.
- Jones did not know the man.
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A 61-year-old woman was blinded after a stranger threw acid on her in front of her home in Philadelphia, several local outlets reported.
Helen Jones was walking to her car just steps from her front door in the early morning of October 6 when a man approached her and tossed acid in her face, the local ABC News affiliate WPVI-TV reported.
Police told Fox News that fire officials later determined the substance was chlorosulfuric acid.
Jones’ daughter Aneesha Summerville told WPVI: “There was a man there and he was like ‘Hey, are you good?’ As if he was inquiring about her safety making sure she was okay. And when she looked up to say ‘yes,’ he threw the stuff in her face and ran off.”
Summerville said Jones did not know the man who at the time was wearing a mask.
In a GoFundMe set up to help Jones, Summerville said she was now blind in both eyes, and her face is burned.
Police are investigating. Summerville said while Jones couldn't see the man's nose and mouth, "she saw his eyes. If she was able to see him again, she would know his eyes."
She also told WPVI the man might have burns on his hands from throwing the acid.
Summerville said the situation really traumatized her mother, who was independent and outgoing. Jones worked as a phlebotomist and was on her way to draw blood for patients at a nursing home before the attack.
"She was very independent one moment, and the next moment we have to make sure we are around to make sure she's not knocking into anything or she's not going to get hurt," Summerville told WPVI.