Sacramento police detectives investigate death of person found in burning vehicle
Detectives are investigating the death of a person found in a burning vehicle that apparently crashed into a parked vehicle in North Sacramento late Wednesday, authorities said.
The incident was initially reported as a vehicle fire in the 3500 block of Taylor Street in Sacramento’s West Del Paso Heights neighborhood. As firefighters were heading to the scene, they received a report from a passerby that a person was spotted inside the burning vehicle, said Capt. Keith Wade, a spokesman for the Sacramento Fire Department.
The firefighters immediately notified police. Wade said firefighters arrived at the scene and extinguished the fire, knowing that the person inside could no longer be freed from the burning vehicle.
The vehicle’s wheels were still spinning as it was pinned up against the parked vehicle when firefighters arrived, Wade said. Fire investigators believe it’s possible the fire was caused by a spark from the spinning wheels, but the cause of the fire had not been determined, Wade said.
Officers were called to the Taylor Street scene about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, said Officer Ryan Woo, a spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department.
Woo said police detectives also were called to the scene to conduct a death investigation, and they were working with arson investigators and the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office to determine what occurred and the cause of death.
The Coroner’s Office will release the person’s name once the family has been notified.
