HOUSTON -- Police say a woman told her children that “they were going to see Jesus” before she tried to burn a car with them inside.
It happened at a car wash Sunday night near the 4300 block of W. Orem in southwest Houston. There were about 20 people at the facility when the incident took place.
According to the Houston Police Department, the woman revved the car’s engine until it caught on fire. Witnesses intervened and the woman ran away with the children.
She abandoned two of her daughters – ages 13 and 11 – and then continued to drag her 9-year-old daughter towards a bayou nearby, police said. She then tripped and fell over.
The woman was located by a deputy constable and taken into custody. The children were unharmed, according to HPD.
Police are continuing their investigation to determine what charges may be filed. The woman will also undergo a mental evaluation, police said.
Houston Fire Department arson investigators were also called to the scene.