Mother dies day after toddler killed in north Phoenix apartment fire

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — Police confirm a mother has died, along with her toddler after a fire broke out at a north Phoenix apartment complex earlier this week.

Phoenix firefighters and police officers responded to the Cypress Apartments near Bell Road and Central Avenue just before 1 p.m. on Wednesday. Investigators say 37-year-old Ashley Sutter and her 3-year-old son, Maximus Hodges, were inside the apartment when the fire started. Crews arrived to find heavy smoke and fire coming from a ground-floor unit and immediately upgraded the call to a first-alarm response, requesting additional units. Fire officials said it was a fast-moving blaze, spreading quickly into the second and third floors.

Once the fire was extinguished, firefighters found Maximus dead inside the apartment. Sutter was found in extremely critical condition, suffering from burns and smoke inhalation. She was rushed to the hospital but died on Thursday. A man who tried to get into the burning apartment before firefighters arrived was also hurt, along with two firefighters who suffered minor burns.

The fast-moving fire broke out at an apartment complex on Bell Road near Central Avenue early Wednesday afternoon.

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