Woman burned putting out fire in attempted arson
The second case involves a case of attempted arson. When we covered the story on Monday night there were no injuries to report but tonight we have images of very graphic burns a woman sustained when her house was set on fire. Fifty-five year old Juanita Gonzalez told News Five from her hospital bed that she and her two daughters were asleep at their home on Louise Bevans Street when just after two-thirty on Sunday morning they woke up to the smell of smoke. What they discovered was that the only entrance of her house was on fire. But while Gonzalez’ daughters were lucky to extinguish the blaze before it could destroy anything, Gonzalez paid a high price for trying to escape. The Honduran born woman told us through an interpreter that she was burned on her legs when she exited the house and stumbled to safety. But while she survived the fire, she believes the flames were set by another Honduran, a former neighbour who had reportedly been threatening Gonzalez and her daughters.
Juanita Gonzalez, Burn Victim
“Like two-thirty a.m. me and my daughter was sleeping in a room and my next daughter was sleeping in the hall and the next daughter was with me. So she wake up and she said fire, fire so I got up and then I tried to open the door but when I tried to open the door I just see fire. There was only one door. I had to jump from there to come out on the steps because all the steps had fire and the steps are twenty steps. So I had to come out through the door and then I had to roll down the steps so that I could come out from there. I was very scared and that’s how I got burned. I used to live on the Boulevard on one side and she used to live on the other side.”
Marion Ali
“And you had a dispute with her?”
Juanita Gonzalez
“Yes, she was saying sometimes that I used to do her old lover and maybe she tried to do revenge. I suspect from her.”
Marion Ali
“You didn’t see anybody when you got up?”
Juanita Gonzalez
“No, I did not see anyone. But she is the only one that likes to tell me things on the street, likes to offend me and she likes to threaten.”
Karina Gonzalez, Daughter, Burn Victim
“We push di door and mi ma jump and cross and she fly pan di step but di step done get burn. So wah lee bit ah water mi deh eena fi we house den I come out and finish out di fire. So thank God mi sista mi deh cause we mi di sleep hard and all ah wi mi wah burn down.”
Marilyn Palacio, Daughter, Burn Victim
“She and my ma mi di try push di door and when time she push di door, di door fly open. And when time di door fly open, my ma fly through di door too right and I think dah right deh she get badly burned because I mi swear think she drop off ah di verandah. I mi swear think she get hurt. So when time we mi got water deh and we start to wet it up and we start to full some bucket and mek di fire go off. So when time we come downstairs my ma mi deh right pan di step di sit down and her two foot badly burned. My sista gone and hail our neighbour and I call 911 and dehn ker my ma dah hospital. My ma noh friend wid nobody, my ma noh got enemy wid nobody; we noh fool round wid nobody. My ma keep to ihself so I noh know what’s up wid dah lady deh.”
Marion Ali
“Unnu keep di seh dah wah lady. Unnu mi si ah?”
Marilyn Palacio
“Well, she got problem wid my ma long time and my noh got no problem wid she because she call police afta my ma and seh dat how my ma di obeah fi she man and all ah dat and nothing noh go soh.”
Juanita Gonzalez
“The doctors say that I won’t be able to come out right now because it could have infection out there so I have to wait until the doctors say I could come out.”
Up to news time police had not made any arrests in connection with Gonzalez’ attempted arson case nor Pamela Stuart’s hit-and-run incident. If you have information on any of these cases you’re asked to call the nearest police station. Meanwhile Gonzalez and her daughters are fearful now to remain at the house.