Vancouver woman burned by acid thrown in face

A 28-year-old Vancouver, Wash., woman suffered severe burns Monday when a stranger threw acid in her face.

The doctor charged with caring for the woman, Dr. Nick Eshraghi, spoke with media inside a conference room at the Oregon Burn Center at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland Wednesday afternoon ahead of a planned dermabrasion procedure he hoped would remove layers of damaged skin from the burned face of Bethany Storro.

Storro, he said, suffered second-degree burns and worse in the attack when a woman she didn't know approached her, uttered a question, and tossed a cup of acid into her face. The attack happened at about 7:15 p.m. Monday as Storro stood outside the passenger side of her car, planning to get some coffee at Starbucks.

Storro was wearing a pair of sunglasses she had bought shortly before the attack, and they are being credited with protecting her eyes. Her condition was upgraded from serious to fair on Wednesday, hospital officials said.

"That could have been a very bad injury," Eshraghi said.

The doctor said a drop of the substance recovered from Storro's clothing has tested positive as sulfuric or hydrochloric acid. The cup contained enough acid to cover her whole face, he said. The liquid did not come into contact with the inside of her mouth, her hair or neck.

Eshraghi said he hasn't stopped thinking about Storro since she arrived at the burn center, having been rushed there by paramedics after a passer-by reported the episode to 911.

He said she's at risk of scarring and will likely remain in the hospital for several more days. The dermabrasion, he said, could help stem some of the long-term effects by "lifting the obviously dead tissue."

"We've dealt with much worse than this," Eshraghi said.

The acid used in the attack is contained inside common household cleaners, Eshraghi said, taking the opportunity to warn against the danger of chemicals "right underneath our kitchen sinks."

When Storro arrived at the hospital, Eshraghi said, a saline solution was used to wash lingering acid from her face. Storro's burns have been treated with topical antibiotics and she is being administered medicine to relieve her pain, he added.

"She's doing OK, considering," Eshraghi said.

Storro recently returned from Priest River, Idaho, to her native Vancouver, according to her mother, Nancy Neuwelt. She works at the Safeway grocery store in Washougal, Clark County.

Neuwelt said her daughter is single and has no children.

The apparently random act of violence has drawn international media attention.

"Detectives are still actively investigating" the attack, said Kim Kapp, a Vancouver police spokeswoman.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Vancouver police detective Cpl. Wally Stefan at 360-487-7425.