Woman Set Ablaze Talks About Horrific Ordeal
BOYNTON BEACH (CBSMiami) -- A South Florida woman doused with gasoline and set on fire believes her children helped keep her alive.
Naomi Breton, who was set ablaze allegedly by her estranged boyfriend, said the thought of her three sons forced her to keep fighting for her life.
"My main thing is, I need to stay around. I need to be alive for my kids," said Breton.
The attack happened around 3 a.m. on Monday.
Breton told police the father of her 4-year-old son was supposed to meet her in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven so she could pick up the child as part of a shared custody agreement. But when Roosevelt Mondesir showed up, their son was not in the car. Instead he brought a container of gasoline and a machete.
Surveillance video outside the 7-Eleven shows Mondesir chasing Breton with the gas can before he doused her with the flammable gas, according to the probable cause affidavit.
"He starts dousing me with the gas," Breton said. "And that's when you see, in the film, we're actually running away from one another. I'm running away from him."
Breton, soaked in gasoline, ran inside the 7-Eleven but the knife-wielding attacker was able to pull her back outside the store.
Seconds later, the video shows her running while fully engulfed in flames.
Breton said she clearly remembers the agonizing pain.
"I go up in flames, and that's when I started screaming, and the only thing I saw to do was take off my clothes," she said.
Breton got her clothes off and called 911.
"He set me on fire, okay. Hurry up, please, please, please, it burns," she told the 911 operator. "He's still outside, he has a knife, he set me on fire," said a terrified Breton in the 911 call. Crying to the operator she said, "Hurry up, hurry up, please, it hurts."
Listen To The 911 Calls Below
Breton said she suffered second- and third-degree burns to her arms, stomach and face. She faces months, if not years, of painful therapy and rehabilitation.
Breton said she's still thankful because her children have a mother.
"I just thank God that I'm alive, because in looking at the picture, I probably shouldn't be here right now," she said.
Mondesir remains in jail without bond, charged with attempted first-degree murder.
