DAVIE, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida woman has been hospitalized after she got badly burned in an arson attack that, police said, was committed by her boyfriend.
Her mobile home was set on fire at a trailer park near Southwest 52nd Avenue and 33rd Street in Davie last week.
On Monday, June 14, Julie Wilsey barely escaped this raging mobile home fire in Davie with her life.
“I don’t really remember anything except for coming out of my house and being on flames,” Wilsey said in a phone interview.
Speaking to 7News from her bed at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Wilsey took us back to her real-life nightmare.
Her memory of the horror she lived through was still a bit foggy.
“I’m in bad shape and my, my, legs are, my legs are and my feet are burnt, so it’s unrecognizable,” she said.
Her mobile home was set on fire, and it was on purpose, according to officials.
Investigators said 54-year-old Scott Oatkin set the blaze. They arrested him last Thursday.
As the fire spread, Wilsey talked about how she escaped and jumped into a nearby canal to put out the flames.
“… and then I remember jumping in the canal; I jumped in the canal and, uh, I remember being in the ambulance,” she said.
Wilsey has second- and third-degree burns over more than 20% of her lower body. She shared a photo of her badly burned foot with 7News, which has been blurred, due to the severity of her injuries.
“I am very lucky; I could, I could be dead,” she said.
According to the arrest report, Oatkin and Wilsey have been dating over the last year.
Wilsey told police the morning of the fire, the two got into an argument. Shortly after, the fire started.
Oatkin is now being held on $25,000 bond.
A GoFundMe has been set up to raise money for her various medical expenses. If you wish to donate, click here.
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