This is an awful, horrifying story out of California... This week, tragedy struck two families who were killed in a fiery car crash while two men could only helplessly watch as their wives and children burned to death.
Two families are ripped apart when children, mothers die in car fire on 5 Freeway near Gorman
Two Bay Area families were on route to a vacation in Southern California on Tuesday when a big rig struck their minivan on the 5 Freeway, sending it off the road where it caught fire. Two women and four children died.
The minivan had gotten into a minor accident with another car, and they pulled over to the shoulder to inspect the damage. That's when a semi-truck slammed into the back of the minivan, propelling it completely off the road. It tumbled down a steep embankment with all eight passengers inside.
The two fathers sitting in the front, 34-year-old Aaron Hon Wing Ng and 45-year-old Wei Xiong Li, jumped out of the two front doors as the car burst into flames and attempted to pry open the back doors, but they were stuck. Both men suffered serious burns to their arms while trying to rescue their loved ones.
By the time California Highway Patrol officers arrived on the scene, the van was engulfed in flames. They tried to help save the families, but the fire was burning too fast and hot for fire extinguishers or life-saving efforts to work. It was too late. The officers had to restrain the two fathers to keep them from further injuring themselves.
"Words can't describe what that was like when we arrived on scene," Officer Dan Williams told the Associated Press. "It was very horrific seeing them trying to get their families out, us trying to help get their families out. Like I said, the van went up in flames very, very quickly."
The names of the six passengers have not been released. The AP reports that Ng and Li were airlifted to a hospital, where they are being treated for their injuries. They are listed in serious condition but expected to live. There have been no arrests and the investigation is ongoing.
I can't even imagine. If anyone out there knows Mr. Ng or Mr. Li, or knows how the community can support them in this terrible time, please drop a line. We'll share the information here.
More here: Two Bay Area fathers watch helplessly as families die in fiery Southern California car wreck