FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — A woman who crashed her car into a Fall River apartment building, setting off a massive fire, died Tuesday, authorities said.
A passenger in the vehicle was taken to Rhode Island Hospital in critical condition, but Bristol County District Attorney’s Office says it appears that no occupants of the apartment building were injured.
Four firefighters were hospitalized for exhaustion. Fall River Fire Chief John Lynch told the Herald News none was seriously injured.
Witnesses said the car was moving fast Tuesday morning when it jumped the curb and crashed into the building, according to Lynch. He told the Boston Globe that the car drove 15 feet into the first floor of the Four Winds Apartments on North Main Street.
Emergency crews arrived to find the 72-year-old woman from Fall River dead inside the vehicle, the district attorney’s office said. Her name wasn’t immediately released publicly.
More than 100 firefighters responded to the call and, at one point, crews were forced to retreat as flames pushed out from the building’s windows.
In all, 45 people were evacuated from the 36-unit building, and several apartments were damaged.
