SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) — A neighbor banging on the front door alerted a San Jose mom and her daughter to evacuate their home as their car burned in the driveway.
It went up in flames fewer than 2 feet from the garage door.
It happened on the morning of Dec.18, and January Villarreal wasn't the only one.
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"I've lived here for going on seven years now, and I have never experienced anywhere near this level of crime," Villarreal said.
On that same morning, San Jose firefighters responded to a total of three other vehicle fires, each at different locations in the Willow Glen area. They said the string of fires happened between 5:30 and 6 a.m.
This single mother of a 10-year-old daughter lost her only car to get around.
"Now I'm left with trying to figure out what to do with getting a new car, a new used car since I had just finished paying off my car a month before it was lit on fire," Villarreal said.
Villarreal's torched Toyota Rav was insured for liability, not fire damage.
A family member started a GoFundMe page to help.
For the short-term, her mom gifted her a rental.
"She did say well this is going to be your Christmas gift, and of course I'm happy to accept," Villarreal said.
As far as who is behind these fires, authorities are still looking. Surveillance video from a neighbor shows someone on a bike that morning, appearing to hold something they used to light the cars on fire.
The San Jose Fire Department's Arson Unit is investigating this incident. They're asking anyone with information to call their tip line.

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