2 Boys Die in Flaming Crash; Parents Are Severely Burned

Despite neighbors’ efforts to save them, two young boys died Wednesday and their parents were severely injured when their idling car was rammed, pushed into traffic and broadsided, bursting into flames in a residential area.

The boys, ages 18 months and 4 years, died in the back seat, although residents tried to put out the blaze with fire extinguishers and a garden hose.

A medical helicopter took the mother to UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange, where she was in critical condition Wednesday night with burns over 93% of her body. The father, who was driving, also was in critical condition at the hospital with burns over 36% of his body.

The names of the victims had not been released.

The family was waiting to turn left from Prospect Avenue onto Theodora Drive about 4 p.m. when their car was struck from behind and pushed into the path of oncoming traffic. A car broadsided them.

Neighbor William McCoy said he grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran out.

“When I got there, a man was screaming, ‘My children, my children. I can’t get them out,’ ” McCoy said.

McCoy and others sprayed the car, but were forced back when the car tires began exploding.