A 6-year-old girl died in a fire outside a Minnesota Walmart when a man left a hot stove in his vehicle, authorities said.
Roberto Lino Hipolito, 70, was charged Wednesday with second-degree manslaughter in connection to the fatal fire in Fridley, Minnesota.
Prosecutors said Hipolito had been staying in a van parked outside the Walmart with his wife on Tuesday night.
He was allegedly seen on surveillance video preparing food on a cook stove, but once he finished cooking with the stove on the pavement, he placed it back in his van before heading into the store, police said.
“After cooking, and without significant time to allow the stove to cool, [Hipolito] puts the stove in the rear of the vehicle,” police said, according to the Star Tribune.
But the van caught fire and spread to another vehicle where two young girls were alone while their mother was inside the store, according to officials.
Ty’rah White, 6, and her older sister, Tarji White, 9 — both injured in the blaze — were rushed to Hennepin County Medical Center, authorities said.
The younger sister succumbed to her injuries at the hospital, while the older sibling remains in critical condition, the Star Tribune reported.
With Post wires



