Infant killed in fiery crash on 110 Freeway

An 11-month-old girl died in a fiery car crash Friday on the 110 Freeway, as bystanders tried unsuccessfully to save the infant from burning car, authorities and witnesses said.
Leiana Ramirez of Los Angeles died in the crash, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner’s Lt. Larry Dietz said.
The CHP received reports of a car crash involving a person trapped inside a burning vehicle about 5:25 p.m. on the freeway just north of York Boulevard, on the border between South Pasadena and Highland Park, CHP officials said in a written statement.
A 2002 Nissan containing the infant and being driven by a 30-year-old Los Angeles woman — reportedly the infant’s mother — had stopped in the No. 3 lane of the southbound freeway due to a possibly flat tire, officials said.
A 1999 GMC SUV occupied by two 22-year-old Los Angeles men then struck the rear of the stopped Nissan, according to the CHP statement.
“This caused (the Nissan) to catch on fire and eventually become fully engulfed,” the statement said. “(Ramirez) became trapped in her car seat as a result of the collision.”
“Attempts were made by the involved parties and witnesses to remove the child from the vehicle, but they were overcome by the fire and unsuccessful in their attempts,” the statement said.
The badly burned baby was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. The woman driving the Nissan was hospitalized with second-degree burns to both her arms, the driver of the GMC suffered third-degree burns to both his arms, and the passenger in the GMC complained of pain to his left shoulder.
Alcohol or drugs played no role in the crash, investigators said.
Jair Aguirre, 26, lives next to the freeway and rushed out to help following the crash.
He said he tried to fight the flames with a garden hose as three other men from the neighborhood ran to the car with buckets and a fire extinguisher.
Aguirre said they tried to reach the girl by breaking open a window with a baseball bat. The men reached into the back seat repeatedly but were driven back and burned by the growing fire.
“You just felt helpless looking at that car in flames,” he said.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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