Bride-To-Be Among 5 Women Dead, 4 Injured in California Limousine Fire on San Mateo Bridge

TRAGIC, SIMPLY TRAGIC … FROM CELEBRATION TO DEATH IN A MATTER OF MINUTES.

Five woman are dead, including the bride-to-be who was supposed to be married next month, as the limo they were driving in heading to a bachelorette party burst into flames in the San Francisco area on the San Mateo bridge. Four other woman escaped with burns and smoke inhalation injuries. The only one to escape the vehicle unharmed was the driver. The limo was carrying nine passengers, all women, when it burst into flames around 10 p.m. Saturday. According to California Highway Patrol on Sunday, the limo was going west on the bridge at about 10 p.m. when smoke began pouring out of the rear passenger area. The limo driver managed to stop the car allowing he and four passengers to escape the vehicle. Five of the women could not and were pronounced dead at the scene. The surviving passengers were taken to Valley Medical Center and Stanford Hospital for treatment for burns and smoke inhalation. San Mateo County Supervising Deputy Coroner Michelle Rippy says autopsies will be conducted to determine the exact causes of death.

The name of the bride-to-be — or of the other four women killed — has not been released by officials.

The limo was carrying nine female passengers and a male driver when it caught fire late Saturday on the San Mateo bridge, California Highway Patrol officer Art Montiel told The Associated Press.

Five occupants became trapped, while four others suffered injuries but managed to get out after the vehicle came to a stop on the bridge, the patrol said. The driver escaped uninjured.

The names of those killed have not been released, but the CHP released the names, ages and hometowns of the women who survived and the driver.

The driver was identified as Orville Brown, 46, of San Jose.

The passengers who survived were Jasmine Desguia, 34, of San Jose; Mary G. Guardiano, 42, of Alameda; Nelia Arrellano, 36, of Oakland; and Amalia Loyola, 48, of San Leandro.