Child suffers extreme burn injuries in car fire
By Richard Ramos, Madisen Keavy
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NEVADA CITY, California (KOVR/KMAX) — A child suffered extreme burn injuries after a vehicle caught fire at a Nevada City apartment complex, police said Tuesday.
Nevada City police said it happened around 1:30 p.m. at the Cashin Fields Apartments along Ridge Road.
Investigators said a young boy was left strapped in a car seat in a vehicle that was parked in a carport when the vehicle caught fire. A bystander helped the child’s mother pull him out of the burning car.
Joining the efforts to help, another neighbor put out the flames with a fire extinguisher. She spoke to CBS13 shortly after the incident, sharing that she heard screaming Tuesday afternoon and calls for help.
“My neighbor was banging on the door. I threw my phone at her, grabbed my fire extinguisher and ran to the fire,” said Kimberly Stidham, a neighbor who helped.
Stidham said she saw another man pulling the child, who police say was under five years old, out of the sedan as she ran towards the car with the extinguisher. She said he had one, too, and worked to put out the fire after the boy was out of the vehicle.
“He wasn’t breathing at first. I was worried. I ran. I did not think at all,” said Stidham.
In an interview with CBS13, Nevada City Chief of Police Dan Foss said it’s estimated that 90% of the child’s body was burned. The child has since been taken to an area burn center for treatment and, as of Tuesday evening, was in critical condition.
“Regardless of criminal intent or not, this should not have happened. This should not have occurred. We should not have to deal with this aftermath,” Chief Foss said.
Stidham told CBS13 she’s known the child since he was a baby, when he was at least nine months old. She said both of their families were homeless and both moved into this same apartment complex.
“We were really happy we were still neighbors,” Stidham said.
The cause of the fire is not yet known, but police said it originated inside the vehicle in the passenger compartment. No arrests were announced.
Police said the family lives at the complex and is cooperating with the investigation.
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