**Florida woman’s shocking negligence leads to fiery disaster, as a car catches fire with two young children inside, while she allegedly shoplifts at a mall.**
In a horrifying incident in Oviedo, Florida, a young woman faces severe charges after a vehicle fire, with two children trapped inside, is set ablaze while she was reportedly shoplifting at a mall. Alicia Moore, 24, of Orlando, has been charged with first-degree arson and child neglect, resulting in great bodily harm connected to this dreadful May 26th event.
Moore, after parking her borrowed 2016 white Lincoln in the Dillard’s parking lot at Oviedo Mall, is said to have left two children, ages 2 and 4, inside the car while she and an unidentified male shoplifted. According to a report from the Oviedo Police Department, the mall’s loss prevention worker kept an eye on the pair for about an hour before the fire erupted.
Just as the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames, Moore dropped the stolen merchandise and rushed out of the store. Two bystanders, including Suzanne Matos, helped rescue the children who were then taken to Arnold Palmer Children’s hospital. One child suffered first-degree burns to her face and ears.
Following the incident, Moore was arrested by the Orlando Police Department for outstanding, unrelated warrants in other counties, while she was at the hospital with the children. While in custody, she was charged with child abuse and arson connected to the fire.
An inspection of the now-totaled car found clothes and a box labeled “flammable gas” in the trunk. “She’s being charged with the arson because she did leave the kids alone in the car with some sort of lighter, matches, I don’t know what it was that set the car on fire,” said Lisa McDonald, City of Oviedo’s communications manager. “But the children are her responsibilities.”
Moore remains in custody at Seminole County Jail on a $48,000 bond. Her court date for the child neglect with great bodily harm charge is scheduled for August 8, and her inmate information listing includes additional charges of two counts of second offense petit theft, one count of assault on an elderly person, and one count of battery on an elderly person.
**A horrifying incident serves as a stark reminder of the severe consequences that can result from selfish and reckless actions, such as leaving helpless children alone in a vehicle while committing a crime.**
