Jun 6, 2008 11:00 am US/Eastern
Calif. Woman Sets Self Ablaze After Wedding Nixed
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CBS) ―
An engaged California couple called their wedding off during a heated argument, after which the woman set herself on fire.
"We could hear the patient inside the trailer yelling, 'help, help. I'm dying, I'm dying,'" said a responding firefighter.
A pile of ashes and the woman's clothes were still burning in the driveway when emergency crews arrived, reported CBS station KOVR-TV in Sacramento. According to the Nevada County Sheriff's Department, the couple called off the engagement after a series of arguments. Firefighters say the 24-year-old woman doused herself with gasoline and lit herself on fire.
"We found her in her trailer in the bath in the fetal position screaming," said Cpt. Bran Amaral, Nevada County Consolidated Fire.
The woman was airlifted from Nevada City to an area hospital, suffering burns over 30 percent of her body - including her face.
"They are life threatening burns," said Cpt. Amaral.
Neighbors say this is a family that has been deeply affected by tragedy. They say the woman's mother died of cancer a few years ago and the brother drowned in a local lake. The family doesn't live in the large dilapidated home on the property; instead they stay in the trailer.
"They keep to themselves," said Jack Rodden, neighbor.
Sympathy is going out tonight for a family that already endured so much.
"They've had troubles all...ever since. That's too bad if it's her," said Rodden.
The Sheriff's Department says no charges are going to be filed in this case, but are going to make sure both the woman and man receive counseling.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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