Woman, 29, Dies After Setting Her Car on Fire
A 29-year-old Costa Mesa woman died after dousing the interior of her car with gasoline at a service station, then driving away and setting the vehicle ablaze, authorities said Thursday.
The woman, whose identity was not released Thursday pending a dental records check, died Wednesday when the car exploded and was engulfed in flames a few blocks from the service station in suburban north San Diego, said Sgt. Dave Douglas of the San Diego Police Department.
“We believe it was started with a match,” Douglas said.
Two gas station attendants were unsuccessful in stopping the woman from leaving after she pumped $5 worth of gasoline into the Volkswagen convertible and drove away shortly after 6 a.m., Douglas said. No other customers were at the AM-PM mini mart on Rancho Bernardo Road, just east of Interstate 15.
The woman had lived with her parents in Rancho Bernardo for a month and had been suicidal in the past, Douglas said.
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