Elderly Woman Dies in Car Fire

An elderly woman whose car caused a grass fire after it became stuck on a dead-end road was found dead inside the vehicle Monday afternoon, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

The woman, whom authorities declined to identify until her relatives are told of her death, was driving east on Read Road in Thousand Oaks at 4:55 p.m. Sheriff’s deputies estimated she was between 70 and 80 years old.

A foreman from a nearby ranch saw the woman drive down the street, and became worried when she did not return. The man, who deputies did not identify, found the woman’s 1992 Ford Probe stuck near the end of the cul-de-sac. He spoke to her, arranged for a tow truck and then returned to work, deputies said.

About 15 minutes later, the foreman and Bill Hager, a county fire investigator driving along California 23, saw smoke in the area. When they arrived, the car and the surrounding brush were engulfed in flames, deputies said.

Hager called the Ventura County Fire Department, which put out the blaze 30 minutes later. At that point, the woman was discovered sitting in the car. Investigations into the cause of the fire and the cause of death are ongoing.