A Florida mother was busy shoplifting inside of a department store when her car suddenly burst into flames with her two children trapped inside, according to police.
Alicia Moore, 24, parked her car outside the Dillard’s department store at the Oviedo Mall on May 26 with her two young kids inside who “could not care for themselves” according to a police report obtained by Fox Orlando.
The Orlando native then went inside the store with another man, who has not been identified, and allegedly began stealing from the store, according to police, the NY Post reports.
Nearly an hour later, she left the store and found her car engulfed in a massive blaze.
The mother dropped all of the allegedly stolen items in the store and ran towards the vehicle, cops said.
After the explosion, nearby shoppers and witnesses jumped into action and helped rescue the children inside.
One child suffered first-degree burns to the face and ears, according to the police report.
Video shared by the City of Oviedo, caught on a Tesla dashcam in the parking lot, shows the back windows and front windshield of the white car shatter as massive flames and smoke violently spew from the inside.
The vehicle was totalled in the fire, cops said.
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.
Moore was arrested on May 31 and charged with aggravated child neglect and arson as well as petty theft and battery charges. She is being held in Seminole County Jail on a $US48,000 ($72,500) bond, jail records show.
This article originally appeared on NY Post and was reproduced with permission
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