Reuters: Oddly Enough: Elderly women scramble to escape burning limo in California

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Elderly women scramble to escape burning limo in California Jun 10th 2013, 21:10 By Laila Kearney SAN FRANCISCO | Mon Jun 10, 2013 4:56pm EDT SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Ten elderly women, most in their 90s and some using canes, escaped unharmed from a stretch limousine that burst into flames at a gated senior community in Northern California, police said on Monday. The incident Sunday afternoon came a month after a bride and four friends died trapped in another burning limo as it crossed a bridge over San Francisco Bay some 30 miles away. The California Highway Patrol was looking into links between the two incidents, said Lieutenant Jay Hill of the Walnut Creek Police Department. The 10 women, eight of them in their 90s, were sitting in the black limousine in their gated community in Walnut Creek at noon Sunday when it caught fire, Hill said. The group had been headed to a birthday party for one of the nonagenarian women, some of whom used canes and walkers. One of the passengers, Mary Chapman, told local KGO-TV that they became alarmed when they saw smoke coming out of the car. "When I looked out, there was red flames and black smoke and now you can see the result," she said, gesturing to a large burned spot on the asphalt where the limo had been idling when it caught fire. "I just think there should be laws to regulate limousines just like there are for trucks," Chapman said. In the May incident, new bride Neriza Fojas, 31, and eight girlfriends were heading across the San Mateo-Hayward bridge toward a party celebrating her recent wedding when their white stretch limo became engulfed in flames. Law enforcement officials say Fojas and four of her friends died as they tried to crawl through a small opening in a partition between the passenger compartment and driver's seat. Four other women, who managed to get out of the car after it stopped on the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, survived the fire. (Writing and additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Doina Chiacu) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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