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A Texas mother has been arrested for allegedly endangering her children’s lives after leaving them home alone just hours before a fire broke out in their home.
According to the Texarkana Texas Police Department, 29-year-old Hilda Xona Cojoc was taken into custody on Sunday, June 29, in connection with the incident. Authorities say her two young sons, ages 7 and 10, were alone in the house at the time of the fire.
Emergency responders were called to the 1900 block of Walnut Street that afternoon after reports of a house fire. When firefighters arrived, flames were reportedly shooting from the roof.
Police said a neighbor rushed to help the two boys escape and led them to safety across the street after noticing smoke and fire coming from the home.
Officers spoke with the children at the scene, who told them their mother had left around 8 a.m. to go to work and had not arranged for any supervision.
Cojoc returned home after being informed of the fire and was subsequently arrested. She was booked into the Bi-State Jail on charges of abandoning or endangering a child. Her bond was set at $150,000.
The two boys are now in the custody of Child Protective Services, officials confirmed.
“We’re just incredibly grateful this didn’t turn into something even worse. This could have ended in absolute tragedy,” the police department said in a statement.
Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
