Posted on 05/05/2013 1:19:30 AM PDT by Lonely Bull
The westbound lanes of the San Mateo-Hayward bridge were closed for several hours Saturday night due to a deadly fire involving a limosine.
The California Highway Patrol said the fire was first reported around 10 p.m. in the third lane of westbound state Highway 92 at the bridge's decline. As many as ten people were inside the limo and as many as five of them died, according to multiple reports
Witnesses at the scene reported people were trapped inside the burning limo. The CHP told NBC Bay Area there were multiple fatalities, but could not confirm a number.
Witnesses told NBC Bay Area the limo was not involved in an accident prior to catching on fire. It was not clear what could have sparked the flames.
This is prom season, so there were fears that the group could be high school students on their way to a dance, but the Hayward Daily Review newspaper spoke to a CHP officer who said the victims were not teenagers. but adult women.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcbayarea.com ...
“the limo was not involved in an accident prior to catching on fire”
Weird, so then why not just exit the car?
What an awful way to go. Gotta wonder what caused this. My first thought was if maybe any of the women were older and/or had a respiratory condition that required an oxygen tank. A seniors bus caught fire a couple years ago that way.
Either way, RIP to all the victims here. What an awful fate!
Weird that it happened while the limo was on a bridge too.
News reports say the 10 people were all woman believed to all be in their 30’s. The fire started in the rear of the car, the driver immediately pulled over and then the entire rear of the car burst into flames.
As unlikely as it may be, the first thing that came to *my* mind was freebasing cocaine using ether rather than ammonia.
Ask Richard Pryor about that. Nevermind, he’s dead.
Looking at the one photo here, well, there is definitely an accelerant involved, and gasoline is usually VERY well contained.
I don’t understand how the passengers could be trapped inside.
Child-safety locks on doors can be set so that they can’t be opened from the inside. It a “safety feature”. On my 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo, the lock-slide buttons are on the inside edge of the from passenger and rear doors, but I don’t know about the newer models. Probably electronic by now.
Look at the Mercury News video. There is only one door on the left side. The right side looks like it is up against the bridge railing.
Looks like the fire is coming out of the trunk
Right rear door appears open to me.
Maybe they were like that lady that called 911 because her electric locks didn’t work and she couldn’t get out of the car (didn’t know to pull the locks up manually)
Why didn’t the limo driver open the back door??
The one time I was in a limo it was because it was cheaper than 3 taxis...There was only one door in the rear, on the passenger side. The rest of the interior was not set up for having any other doors, because it was wrap around seating.
If this was the same setup, and the people panicked, they may have not had the clarity to try to crawl out through the window to the driver’s area. Or it’s possible there wasn’t one anyway....or it was too small.
I’m guessing we’ll see some legislation on emergency exits on limos in CA after this. Probably from Leland “is the camera on?” Lee.
“Right rear door appears open to me”
Yes it does. The survivors must have gone thru or near the fire to get out.
Wow. Wait until Mayor Bloomberg finds out about this.
As horrible as this is, it proves limos should not have more than seven women in at once...
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