Five women trapped in a stretch limo, a man, yelling to them to get out of the locked passenger compartment, dramatic recordings of 911 calls at the scene of a limousine fire that killed five women in San Fransico in May revealed desperate pleas for help outside the burning vehicle as police and witnesses stand by helplessly, having done all they could.
"We need help on the San Mateo Bridge!" cried a female voice at 10:07 p.m. on May 4 in the first of more than a dozen emergency calls about the fire that were released today by the California Highway Patrol. "Oh my God, oh my God. I cannot open the door!"
A male voice then yelled, "Get out, get out, get out!"
Moments later, a CHP officer calling from the scene of the deadly blaze is heard ordering people to calm down, then telling the dispatcher, "There's people telling me there's five more people trapped inside."
"I don't think there is anything we can do," the officer said. "The rear of the limo is fully engulfed and the doors are locked ... I've got one, two, three, four, five ladies sitting on the ground."
The recordings were released to the media by the CHP today after authorities announced that the fire was caused by a mechanical problem in the limo and that no criminal charges would be filed in connection with the tragedy.
