Nick McFerron

Gannett Tennessee

Jackson police in West Tennessee are still investigating a vehicle fire around the 700 block of Whitehall Street that left a woman dead and a man injured early Sunday.

Police received the call about a car on fire at around 3:15 a.m.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found the 27-year-old man with burns on his arms, and a 1983 Chevrolet Caprice was in the wood line, engulfed in flames.

The woman was identified as 25-year-old Taliesha Souter. Her body was taken to the State Medical Examiner's Office in Nashville for an autopsy.

The man told police and first responders that Souter, his girlfriend, was still in the burning car. After the fire department extinguished the fire, Souter was found dead inside the vehicle.

The man was taken to Jackson-Madison County General Hospital, where he was treated for burns and released.

According to the preliminary investigation, Souter and her boyfriend were the only ones in the car. Souter was driving and her boyfriend was in the passenger seat carrying an open container of gasoline.

Investigators said the fire started when Souter tried to light a cigarette, igniting the gas.

The man was able to jump free of the moving car after it left the road, while Souter remained in the driver seat.

The car came to a stop at the wood line, where first responders found it.

Nick McFerron, 425-9643