Limo fire kills 5: A woman who was going to have a bridal shower was among five people killed in a limousine fire on Saturday night in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In all, nine female passengers and a male driver were in the limo when it caught on fire on the San Mateo bridge between Foster City and and Alameda.
Rosita Guardiano told the San Francisco Chronicle that her daughter, 42-year-old Mary Grace Guardiano, survived the limo fire. She said a bride-to-be, Neriza Fojas of Fresno, was killed while four other women and the driver escaped.
The sister of Frojas, Roslyn Bersamin, told the paper that she got married recently and was on her way to a bridal shower when the incident took place.
“She was a hard worker, a loving sister,” Bersamin said.
The California Highway Patrol said the women were all in their 30s and 40s.
“We don’t know what caused the accident yet,” CHP Officer James Evans told the paper. “It wasn’t a traffic collision, we do know that, but we are still investigating.”
The driver of the limo — identified as 46-year-old Orville Brown of San Jose — was the only person to escape unhurt. The CHP could not say early today if Brown was the owner of the limo, or if the vehicle was operated by a limo company.
Attempts by the Associated Press to reach Brown for comment were unsuccessful.
Investigators have not determined what sparked the fire, but the CHP says the limo became engulfed in flames after smoke started coming out of the rear of the limo.
It was not clear if any other drivers on the bridge stopped and tried to help those get out, or how the driver managed to escape without injury.
“Four people got out, as far as what was going on inside, I don’t know,” CHP officer Jeremy Lofstrom said today.
A photo taken by a witness and broadcast on KTVU-TV showed flames shooting from the back of the white stretch limo. Aerial video shot after the incident showed about one-third of the back half of the limousine had been scorched by the fire, and its taillights and bumper were gone and it appeared to be resting on its rims, but the remainder of the vehicle did not appear to be damaged.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
