Officials said three men were found dead inside a burning SUV, but their names could not be released Tuesday as authorities need dental records for confirmation.
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Sgt. Phil McMullin says police and firefighters were called to a residential neighborhood shortly before 2:30 p.m. Monday and found a black SUV on fire. One was sitting in the front passenger seat, while the two others were in the back, police said. There were no reports of a traffic accident before the fire, officials said.
There was initially a few confusion over the number of victims, but the coroner’s office finally confirmed there were three bodies in the vehicle.
Homicide detectives are searching for the driver of an SUV that was found burning with three bodies inside in a Southern California neighborhood. Officials said an autopsy will not be performed until Thursday, because of the Veterans Day celebration on Wednesday.
Investigators are now trying to determine the cause of the fire and whether or not the victims had died before the vehicle caught fire.
“There was no one in the driver’s seat”, he told the paper.
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Police did not immediately release the name of the registered owner, only saying the SUV was last purchased by someone in the Inland Empire. “I don’t want to say we don’t have a clue, but… we don’t know how the people inside the vehicle perished”, said police Lt. Fred Lopez on scene. The OC Register reports, however, reports that it was Uber driver Albert Riley-who had been parked nearby-that grabbed a neighbors garden hose to put out the fire after he saw a woman yelling about the vehicle. Nearby, Orange High School was locked down as officers searched the area. Certain streets near the incident were blocked off Monday while the police was talking to residents.
