Good Samaritans tried to pull a woman from a burning car on an East County freeway Thursday. Benazir Siddiqui, 38, died in the head-on collision and two others were wounded, authorities said.
"The most incredible part is a lot of passersby attempted to the rescue the woman," San Miguel Fire Department spokesperson Leonard Villarreal said.
The three-vehicle wreck happened about 10:45 a.m. on State Route 125, near Jamacha Road in Spring Valley, according to the California Highway Patrol. The woman was driving a Toyota Corolla.
"As the car was traveling north it crossed over. We don't know whether the female sustained a medical emergency in the car or exactly what happened," Villarreal said.
The Corolla flipped and burst into flames.
"When some of the other drivers stopped the car was upside down and on fire,” Villarreal said. "Some of those drivers, about eight or nine people, actually tried to break the window out to get the female passenger out of the vehicle."
The good Samaritans could not get Siddiqui out of the burning car, he said. She died at the scene.
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The 28-year-old driver of a Dodge Charger was taken to a local hospital with moderate injuries. The driver of a Cadillac suffered minor injuries. A 13-month was also in the car at the time of the crash but was not injured.
The accident left the entire southbound side of the route blocked for a time. A SigAlert was cancelled at 1:07 p.m., CHP officials said.
Siddiqui lived in Chula Vista with her parents, the medical examiner's office said.
