Woman kills child, commits suicide in SUV fire

A woman killed herself and a small child in an SUV fire, authorities said Friday.

The incident occurred Thursday at about 9:45 p.m. in the 300 Block of West 124th Street, just east of the Harbor (110) Freeway, Deputy Mike Barraza of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department told City News Service.

The initial reports came in as a car fire at Athens Park, with Los Angeles County firefighters dousing the blaze and discovering the two victims, according to the LASD.

Witnesses told investigators that an adult woman and a child between 3 and 4 were standing near the SUV as it burned, and the woman kept getting in and out of the flaming vehicle, the LASD said.

The woman then placed the child into the SUV and got in herself, ignoring the pleas of bystanders aghast at the unfolding situation. Both were overcome by the flames and pronounced dead at the scene, according to the LASD.

Homicide detectives and arson investigators are probing why the woman killed herself and the child, and how the fire to the SUV began, according to the LASD.

Coroner's officials are working to identify both, they added.

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