TRAGEDY: Five Nurses Die in Limousine Fire | San Mateo Bridge, California 2013

On May 4, 2013, nine nurses celebrating a bachelorette party crossed the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge in a white stretch limousine. At around 10:05 PM, thick black smoke began rising from the floor. Within minutes, the rear compartment was engulfed in flames. Four women and the driver escaped. Five women—including bride-to-be Neriza Fojas—remained trapped inside.

This episode features real 911 calls from witnesses and survivors, testimony describing desperate escape attempts through an 18-inch-high partition window, and the complete investigation findings. California Highway Patrol investigators concluded the fire resulted from catastrophic suspension failure, not the airbag rupture initially reported by media.

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Content Warning: This episode contains graphic 911 audio, survivor testimony describing entrapment, and discussions of burn injuries.

THE CASE

On the evening of May 4, 2013, Neriza Fojas—a 31-year-old nurse from Monterey, California—celebrated her recent wedding with eight close friends. All nine women worked together as nurses at healthcare facilities in the Bay Area. They had rented a white stretch limousine from Limo Stop, a San Jose company, to transport them to a wedding celebration at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Foster City.

At around 10:05 PM, the 1999 Lincoln Town Car limousine began crossing the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge westbound toward the peninsula. Driver Orville "Ricky" Brown, 46, piloted the vehicle while the women celebrated in the rear passenger compartment behind a raised privacy partition.

THE FIRE

At around 10:05 PM, one of the passengers knocked on the partition and said "smoke." Brown initially believed she was asking permission to smoke a cigarette and told her to wait a few minutes. Then he felt bumps beneath the vehicle. Thick, black, acrid smoke began rising from the floor of the passenger compartment. Within seconds, the rear of the limousine was engulfed in flames.

Brown pulled onto the right shoulder near the bridge's high rise section. Emergency calls flooded 911 dispatch. "We need help on the San Mateo Bridge," a woman screamed. "Oh my God, oh my God. I cannot open the door."

Four women managed to escape through the narrow partition window separating the driver's compartment from the passenger area—a space measuring approximately 18 inches high by 3 feet wide. Survivors described pulling each other through the opening, with some becoming stuck at the hips. Amalia Loyola was the last to escape, suffering severe burns to her ankles as flames consumed the rear compartment.

Five women remained trapped: Neriza Fojas (31), Michelle Estrera (35), Jennifer Balon (39), Anna Alcantara (46), and Felomina Geronga (43). All five died from smoke inhalation. When firefighters extinguished the blaze, they found the victims near the partition window—their final desperate attempt to reach safety.

THE INVESTIGATION

California Highway Patrol investigators and the Foster City Fire Department conducted an exhaustive examination of the vehicle, maintenance records, and witness testimony. Their conclusion: the fire was accidental.

The catastrophic failure of the limousine's rear suspension system allowed the rapidly spinning driveshaft to make contact with the floor pan. The friction created sparks and intense heat, igniting the vehicle's interior. Contrary to initial media reports, investigators found no evidence of ruptured air suspension bags or the vehicle's undercarriage scraping the roadway.

Additional factors contributed to the tragedy: the limousine was overloaded with nine passengers despite being rated for seven, and the raised privacy partition prevented effective communication about the emergency. Driver Brown was cleared of wrongdoing after cell phone records confirmed he was not on his phone during the incident.

Four survivors and the families of the five deceased women filed wrongful death lawsuits against Ford Motor Company, Limo Stop, and Accubuilt (the company that converted the vehicle). Most cases settled out of court. A jury later found Ford not liable, determining that Limo Stop's chronic overloading and misuse of the vehicle—routinely carrying more passengers than it was designed to hold—caused the suspension system failure.

THIS EPISODE

This Obscura investigation features real 911 calls from the night of the fire, survivor testimony from subsequent legal proceedings, and official investigation findings from California Highway Patrol. The episode examines how a joyful celebration became a preventable tragedy through mechanical failure and regulatory gaps in the limousine industry.

RESOURCES

National Burn Victim Foundation: www.nbvf.org

California Highway Patrol Vehicle Safety: www.chp.ca.gov

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