HERMITAGE, Pa. - A Hermitage woman says she had just seconds to rescue her daughter after her SUV caught fire on a Mercer County road.

Looking at the charred remains of her Trailblazer, Tabitha Klink realizes how close she came to a potential tragedy.

She and her 18-month old daughter Gabriela had just left home and were traveling on Route 846 when she noticed smoke coming from the from the vehicle.

"I saw smoke coming out the back, so I got out to see what was going on the front side, and it was already on fire" Klink said.

The fire was spreading fast and her daughter was still in the vehicle.

"She was in the back seat in a car seat and I was having trouble with the straps, so I ended up pulling the strap and breaking it and getting her out" said Klink. 

Tabitha said they moved down the road to get away from the fire.

"By the time we got down the road the windows blew out and the hood blew up" she said. 

Tabitha says the incident happened as she was on her way to pick up her handicapped brother, which would have been a more serious situation.

"If it would have happened with him in the car you know how are you supposed to get them both out at the same time" Klink said.

Tabitha said she had the vehicle in for maintenance the day before the fire because she was supposed to leave Monday for a new job in Florida.

She already had the vehicle partially packed for the trip, all of which was destroyed.

The Insurance company is investigating the cause of the fire.