DETROIT – A Detroit mother of five is desperate for help after somebody set her car on fire.
That mother, Sophia Zamora, says she needs to get a new car and move out of that neighborhood.
“My son came running from downstairs to my room, banging on my door saying, ‘Wake up, wake up, the car is on fire,” said Zamora.
Video shows that around 10:45 p.m. Sunday (Oct. 16), someone walked passed Zamora’s 2009 Chrysler Sebring. The person then doubles back and goes to the driver’s side of the car, and seconds later, you see a burst of flames.
It brings Zamora to tears to think what could have happened if her 17-year-old did not wake up the rest of the family and how quickly it could have spread to the tree on their front lawn.
“The tree leads up to near my roof,” Zamora said. “My house could have been set on fire. You (suspect) could have took all of us, all of us.”
The car was destroyed. The hood was melted off. The front windshield was shattered, and the interior was a wreck too.
Zamora said this loss is more significant than just a car.
“My car is my livelihood, not only to get my 10-year-old back and forth back to school,” Zamora said. “It’s to get my three-year-old back and forth to ABA therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy.”
On top of a job she can’t get to, as the first of the month is quickly approaching, she says she is setting aside her pride to ask for help.
“I paid and worked hard to get that car, and it was reliable, and now I’m paying for transportation,” Zamora said. “I’m paying for rides, and I can’t even feel safe walking my (10-year-old) daughter to school.”
Zamora can’t wrap her mind around who would do something like this.
“What did them kids do to you to come where they lay their heads, let alone me,” Zamora said. “What did I do to you to do that.”
Detroit police is investigating this incident as an arson. If you have any information, call DPD’s arson tipline at 313-628-2900.
Zamora does have insurance but it does not cover vandalism.
Click here to help the family buy a new car and find a new place to live.