A woman is accused of dousing a car with gas and setting it ablaze while two people slept inside at a Hesperia truck stop early Tuesday.
Nicole Incero Najlis, 30, of Oregon, was arrested on suspicion of arson and attempted murder following the incident, which unfolded about 12:30 a.m. June 16 at the Pilot Travel Center, 8701 Highway 395, according to San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department officials and booking records.
“When deputies arrived, they observed two vehicles fully engulfed in flames,” sheriff’s officials said in a written statement. Multiple bystanders pointed out Najlis as the person responsible, and she was arrested.
She and a group of friends were on a road trip from San Diego to Las Vegas when Najlis “purposely set [the] vehicle on fire after a dispute,” the statement said. “Najlis poured fuel from a can into the trunk area of the car, then ignited the fuel by an unknown means.”
Two members of the group were asleep inside the vehicle when it went up in flames, officials siad.
“The two were able to exit the vehicle after the flames woke them up,” the statement said.
The flames subsequently spread to a second vehicle.
Najlis was being held in lieu of $1 million bail pending an initial court appearance, records show.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Woman accused of torching car while 2 friends slept inside in Hesperia
Reporting by Brian Day, Victorville Daily Press / Victorville Daily Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Brian Day, Victorville Daily Press | USA TODAY Network
