VENTURA : Woman Rescued From Burning Car

A truck driver and three undercover Ventura police officers rescued a woman from her burning car on the Ventura Freeway after a three-vehicle accident Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

“If they didn’t pull that lady out, she would have burned to death,” California Highway Patrolman Curt Rhyne said.

Five people were taken to area hospitals and the northbound side of the freeway at Johnson Drive in Ventura was closed briefly after the accident, which occurred about 2 p.m.

The accident also snarled traffic in the southbound lanes and clogged several surface streets, including Victoria Avenue in Ventura and Esplanade Drive in Oxnard, for hours afterward.

Carolina Reyes, 45, of Ventura was northbound in the fast lane on the bridge that spans the Santa Clara River when her car traveled across two lanes and bounced off the retaining wall, Rhyne said.

“Witnesses said she was driving erratically before the accident,” Rhyne said.

A car driven by Maria Pulido, 30, of Oxnard then collided with the Reyes vehicle, which sent the two cars spinning. A semi-truck plowed into both vehicles.

Reyes’ car slid on its side before righting itself and catching fire under the hood. Reyes’ husband, Luis Reyes, escaped but his wife was trapped under the dash as flames shot out of the tire well on the passenger side, witnesses said.

The driver of the truck, Glen Elmore, 35, of Camarillo ran to the car and was joined by the three police officers near the scene, who together pulled the woman out moments before it was engulfed in flames.

“The whole car was toast,” Elmore said as he held a cup of water in shaking hands immediately after the accident. “She was screaming and the scene was pretty tense. I’m just glad she got out.”

Carolina Reyes was listed in good condition at Ventura County Medical Center.

Pulido and three passengers in her car, including her 5-year-old son, were all treated at local hospitals and released.

Rhyne said his investigation into the accident will continue.