Woman killed in Salinas Christmas Day vehicle fire identified

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV): CHP Monterey confirmed that a 32-year-old Salinas woman died in a vehicle fire on Davis Road on Sunday morning.

Officers were advised of a fully engulfed 2010 Dodge Avenger on fire at 12:15 a.m. Salinas Fire said the woman was driving northbound on Davis Road with her husband in the passenger seat and their one-month-old baby in the back seat.

Salinas Fire said the 32-year-old woman and her husband saw smoke from the engine compartment, and flames were on the vehicle floorboard.

The Monterey County Sheriff's Office identified her as Rogelia Nardy Merlin-Jimenez of Salinas.

Merlin-Jimenez drove the vehicle to the right shoulder as the car began to fill with smoke.

Officers said she told her husband to grab their son from the backseat. He exited the vehicle and extracted the baby with the help of witnesses who stopped and assisted.

Officers said the husband returned to the vehicle to help the driver but never saw her exit the vehicle. Witnesses said the vehicle became fully engulfed, and they could not get close to the vehicle to assist the driver.

Salinas Fire arrived on the scene and extinguished the flames. Firefighters discovered the driver deceased in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

The 25-year-old man was transported to Natividad Medical Center for injuries he sustained in trying to rescue the baby and smoke inhalation. The baby was transported with the 25-year-old man for precaution and had no visible injury.

CHP says that alcohol or drugs do not appear to be a factor in the vehicle fire. The fire is still under investigation.