GILROY
– Two wheelchair-bound men managed to escape their burning car –
one by dragging himself out with his hands – Thursday morning on
Ferguson Road.
GILROY – Two wheelchair-bound men managed to escape their burning car – one by dragging himself out with his hands – Thursday morning on Ferguson Road.
Four members of the Amado family were driving from their Dos Palos home to San Jose for a 10 a.m. appointment at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center when the car caught fire just before 9 a.m. California Department of Forestry firefighters who responded had not determined what caused the car to burn as of press time.
“We smelled something like gas,” said driver Julius Amado, 46. Then they saw smoke rising from the 1996 Ford Crown Victoria sedan.
Julius pulled into the driveway of a ranch home on Ferguson Drive, east of Gilroy. The resident, Peggy Ramirez, got a garden hose to help them, but black smoke and flames quickly sprung from beneath the hood.
Julius’ brother Alex, 45, who had the appointment, and their 82-year-old father Julio use wheelchairs.
“They got my dad out first,” Alex said. “Then I jumped out and dragged myself to the fence and pulled myself up.”
The burning car was about 15 feet from the house, but firefighters prevented it from spreading. The car was destroyed, however.
Alex Amado missed his doctor’s appointment, but Julio’s sister-in-law Jovita Amado, who lives in Gilroy, drove the family back to Dos Palos.
