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Car set on fire in driveway while family sleeps in Gastonia home, police say

GASTONIA, N.C. — "I work hard. I try to pay my car payments on time and it's just sad," Shonda Benton said.

Benton cried as she talked to Channel 9 and looked at what was left of her Nissan Versa.

"I'm angry right now.  I'm just very hurt.  I don't bother nobody," Benton said.

According to police, it appears someone poured gas on Benton's car and set it on fire in the driveway of her Pinehurst Street home.

As the crime unfolded outside her door, Benton was inside her home asleep. Witnesses said the fire was so intense neighbors down the street could see the flames growing outside the house.

Neighbors down the street ran over and banged on her door to wake her up.

"Your car is on fire and you need to come out the house because your car is so close to your home," Bento said.

She got outside and was stunned to see the car , which she depends on getting her to work every day, engulfed in flames.

"They were almost to the vent up there," Benton said.

Police said they found a lighter near the crime scene.

Benton said she has no idea who would do this or why.

She was home alone last night, but she lives at the home with her two children and her mother.

"We just totally surprised and shocked.  We would never think that anybody would come in our yard and invade our privacy like this," Lena Arnold, Benton’s mother, said.

The family told Channel 9 they want the person responsible to come forward, so they can have some peace of mind.