According to a lawsuit, a fire in a store parking lot killed one of the daughters and left the other permanently scarred.
The girls were sleeping in the back of the minivan when their mother pulled up to the store.
According to court documents, the girls were tired after being woken early to go to the airport, where their mom dropped them off. She decided to let them sleep while she did some shopping.
Around 6 a.m. was when it happened.
The minivan was on fire when she returned.
First responders held her back as she sprinted towards the fire. Firefighters pulled the girls from the van.
The fire got to them.
The younger of the two died after being resuscitated in the parking lot and taken to the hospital. Her big sister was severely burned and had permanent scars.
According to the lawsuit, Walmart has a well-known policy of allowing people to stay in store parking lots overnight but not monitoring them to make sure the safety of other customers.
There was a dangerous condition on Walmart's property. Walmart's failure to provide staff to oversee the use of its parking lot as a campground made it more dangerous.
Walmart's sympathies remain with the friends and family impacted by this tragic even three years ago, and the retail corporation will respond in court to the complaint as appropriate, according to a statement from Walmart's spokesman.
A camping stove is believed to have started the fire.
As they traveled across the country, a California man and his wife lived out of their 2005 Dodge Caravan. They stopped at the Fridley Walmart and camped in the parking lot.
The man made breakfast using a camping stove on the morning of the fire. After putting it in the back of their vehicle, he drove from the back of the lot to the parking space next to the store entrance.
The man went into the store and the camping stove started a fire in his car. His wife tried to extinguish the fire. The vehicle was on fire.
The man, who pleaded guilty to two counts of negligent fire causing great bodily harm, was sentenced to 120 days in jail and three years of supervised release.
The lawsuit says that unmonitored overnight guests pose a heightened risk to other Walmart shoppers.
The lawsuit states that Walmart failed to inform guests and the public about the potentially dangerous condition created by the free camping policy.
The attorneys want a minimum of 75 grand in relief.
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