Baby Girl, Strapped Into Safety Seat, Dies in Car Fire

A 11-month-old girl strapped in a car seat died Friday night after the car she was in burst into flames and frantic attempts to save her failed, authorities said.

An adult passenger and two other children, ages 3 and 5, in the car managed to escape before it was engulfed in flames about 7:30 p.m. in the rear parking lot of Woodhaven Apartments at 1240 N. State College Blvd., said Ray McLaughlin, an Anaheim Fire Department investigator.

But the girl, who was not identified, was trapped in the back seat and apparently burned to death, McLaughlin said. An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death, officials said.

Officials said the mother of the infant had parked and had gone to the apartment complex office to get a rental application, officials said. Officials said the car was not running at the time.

McLaughlin said the fire may have started in the front seat of the car, but that an investigation will seek to determine the origin.

The adult in the car said she could not get the baby out of the car, possibly because of the car seat, McLaughlin said.

“It was very tragic,” said Sgt. Harold Parkison of the Anaheim Police Department. The car was gutted.

The infant’s mother, identified by police as Christina Romero of Fullerton, and her brother-in-law had stopped at the apartment complex to inquire about moving in, said the manager, Dana Guilbault. They were hoping to rent a two-bedroom apartment for three adults and three children, Guilbault said.

Shortly after Romero and her brother-in-law reached the office, they heard people screaming “Fire!”

“It took me about five seconds to get from my apartment to the back parking lot and the car was already engulfed in flames,” Guilbault said.

Residents of the apartment complex, many of them sobbing, helped get the children out and battled the blaze with fire extinguishers.

“Everybody was trying to do what they could,” Guilbault said.