Judge denies bail for mother accused of setting car on fire with infant son inside
A judge has denied bond for a South Carolina woman accused of setting her car ablaze on the side of a highway Sunday and severely burning her 14-month-old son who sat inside, according to news reports.
Caylin Allise Watson, 23, has been charged with multiple felonies, including attempted murder, arson, abuse, and the infliction of great bodily harm on a child.
She will remain jailed at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Columbia.
Her infant son, who was not named, suffered burns all over his body, according to WLTX-19 in Columbia. He was rushed to the Augusta Burn Center, where he remained in critical condition Tuesday.
Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook told local media that Watson was traveling westbound on Interstate 126 near mile marker 1 around 1:30 p.m. Sunday in Columbia when she pulled her car to the shoulder.
Moments later, four strangers traveling in the same direction noticed the vehicle on fire and stopped to help. They rescued the child from the burning vehicle and then called 911, according to several news reports.
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The Columbia Fire Department was dispatched to extinguish the blaze.
Investigators have not revealed a motive for the incident but called the fire intentional based on evidence gathered at the scene.
Watson also had minor injuries and was treated at the hospital before being taken to jail.
