Friday 12 August 2022 03:13 PM Minnesota mother sues Walmart after fire in parking lot burned sleeping ... trends now
A Minnesota mother is suing Walmart after a fire in a parking lot burned her two daughters, killing one and permanently disfiguring the other.
Essie McKenzie, 33, was shopping at the Walmart in Fridley, Minnesota, in 2019 when her daughters, Ty'rah, 6, and Taraji, 9, were caught in a fire after Roberto Hipolito left a hot camping stove inside his minivan besides the girls' car.
McKenzie is now seeking at least $75,000 in damages against Walmart, blaming the company for its 'well-known' policy of allowing people to camp out in their parking lots but not monitoring them to ensure the safety of others, KARE 11 reported.
'Walmart encouraged and permitted a dangerous condition on its property,' the lawsuit states. '[Walmart] escalated that danger by failing to provide staff to oversee the appropriate use of its parking lot as a campground.'
Essie McKenzie, 33, is seeking at least $75,000 against Walmart, blaming the company for not monitoring campers in its parking lot after one left a hot cooking stove in his minivan, causing a fire that spread to her car, killing her sleeping six-year-old and scarring her nine-year-old
McKenzie was shopping at the Walmart in Fridley, Minnesota, in 2019, when she left her sleeping daughters in the car
Ty'rah (left. ) suffered a heart attack after first responders pulled her and her older sister out of the burning vehicle. She was revived at the scene before dying at a nearby hospital. Taraji (right) suffered severe burns
The lawsuit blames the company for its 'well-known' policy of allowing people to camp out in their parking lots but not monitoring them to ensure the safety of others. Pictured: Two charred vehicles sit in the parking lot
Roberto Lino Hipolito, 72, pleaded guilty to two counts of negligent fire causing great bodily harm and settled a $130,000 lawsuit filed against him by McKenzie
According to investigators, Hipolito, 72, of Long Beach, California, was traveling with his wife in their 2005 Dodge Caravan, living in the vehicle as they traveled across the country.
Hipolito had used a camping stove to make breakfast on August 6, 2019, but failed to wait for it to cool down before storing it in the minivan and parking
