It started as an ordinary day for Shoi Delfin-Caballes and her children, a day like countless others, when a routine filling up at a Palm Harbor Shell gas station became a life-changing moment. Faced with the challenges of the pandemic, Shoi has been able to provide for her family amid rising fuel costs. Little did she know that this routine stop would turn into a tragic event that would change the course of their lives forever.
As Shoi was filling up her SUV, the seemingly routine task turned into a nightmare when the 66-year-old woman accidentally backed into her vehicle, causing it to overturn. In the chaos that ensued, Shoi, now in a dangerous situation, collided with another vehicle as he attempted to exit the gas station parking lot. The impact caused minor damage, but what followed was catastrophic.
Shoi collided with another vehicle while attempting to exit the parking lot, causing minor damage. The nozzle was leaking gas, so Shoi couldn’t escape. Although unable to do anything, Shoi’s 11-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter ran from the car in an attempt to save their mother. Shoi was engulfed in a firestorm caused by gasoline, and the intense heat made it impossible for her daughter or son to save her.
Shoi youths uncontrollably tried to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher. Before the station exploded, a panhandler named Jared Pierson ran across the street and helped his friend move Shoi’s children away from the fire.
Mr. Person did not know that the children’s mother had died in the fire. They didn’t tell him what had happened until he managed to get them to safety near his begging station.
“Apparently she was pinned against the gas tank – the gas pump – and her vehicle,” Pierson said. “When I crossed the street, it was all a huge ball of fire. I had no choice but to drag the kids away and make us all cross the road. Because I believed the gas station was going to catch fire.”
State police are investigating the deaths of a mother and her four children in Florida. Police say the driver backed her Nissan into a gas station. As she was filling her SUV with gas, the spilled liquid “went up in flames,” according to authorities.
The police are currently investigating the incident.
According to SGT. Steve Gaskins, and two children were inside the SUV when it caught fire. They tried in vain to save their mother until a good Samaritan named Pierson came and grabbed the children away from the blazing fire.
“The kids didn’t want to leave my side and my friend’s side, so we left them sitting with our gear stuck, and that’s when we found out their mom was trapped in the car,” he explained.
“Mother wasn’t in the car when I saw it. When I woke up everything was on fire.”
Patterson claims he would have taken action if he had known about their mother’s incarceration.
“I’m just relieved the kids weren’t hurt, and if I’d known that — you always say what would have happened and stuff, you know,” he said. “I just wish I had found out Mother’s location earlier. Something would have been different if I had known that Mother was pinned there. I couldn’t find her. That’s what hurts the most.”
In closing, the tragic incident at the Palm Harbor Shell gas station has left a family devastated and a community in shock. Shoi Delfin-Caballes, a resilient mother trying her best to cope with the challenges of the pandemic, found herself in a terrifying situation when her SUV overturned in a collision at a gas station.
Despite the valiant efforts of her 11-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter to save her, the leaking gas created a firestorm that engulfed Shoi and made rescue impossible. Desperate attempts to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher were futile and the situation escalated further.
Jared Pierson, a nearby panhandler, became an unexpected hero as he rushed to move Shoi’s children away from the growing fire. Unaware of the tragedy that had unfolded, Pierson showed courage and quick thinking to ensure the children’s safety.
As state police investigate the circumstances of the incident, questions remain about the series of events that led to the fatal outcome. Shoia’s untimely death and the profound impact on her family is a heartbreaking reminder of the unforeseen dangers that can arise even on an ordinary day. A community mourns the loss of their mother and grapples with the tragic aftermath of a routine gas station stop that turns into an unimaginable disaster.