Chula Vista
A man apparently being smuggled into the county was burned to death Monday while in a secret compartment of a station wagon that caught fire, authorities said.
The body of the unidentified man, believed to be in his mid-30s, was found by firefighters after they put out the blaze that engulfed the car at Interstate 5 and Palomar Street in Chula Vista, the coroner’s office reported.
Deputy Coroner Penne Hammerstead said about 4 p.m. witnesses saw two Latino men trying to put out the fire in the 1971 station wagon. Witnesses said the pair fled on foot when they were unable to quell the flames.
Firefighters found the body under a false floor in the car. The victim was curled up in a compartment over the rear axle. The car’s shock absorbers had been altered to allow room for a body, officials said.
It appeared that the fire started in the cardboard use in an imitation floor.
Chula Vista police and fire officials were investigating the cause of the fire and looking for the two men who fled the scene.
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