‘Can’t believe we survived’: Woman says good Samaritans helped her to safety after her car caught fire on Bay Bridge
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) — As Lisa Goodman was driving her son across the Bay Bridge to SFO on Tuesday, her car catching fire was the last thing she expected to happen. But some 10 minutes after she crossed Treasure Island, she found herself sitting in a California Highway Patrol car as her own vehicle burned to a crisp.
The fire brought traffic to a complete halt around 11 a.m. on Tuesday as a firetruck blocked all lanes of the bridge. Goodman says she is happy she survived and is grateful for good Samaritans helping her through the harrowing ordeal.
Goodman told KRON4 that her car was just three years old and had only about 17,000 miles on it when it erupted into flames. She had gotten it back from the dealership the day before she drove her son to the airport and thought it felt good.
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She said she noticed smoke while she was driving but thought it was coming from another car or truck nearby — until the driver behind her began flashing his lights. Shortly afterward, a second driver pulled up beside her and yelled out to her that her car was on fire. Goodman’s first thought was to get off the bridge before stopping.
“My inclination was to keep driving and get over the bridge so I wouldn’t inconvenience hundreds and maybe thousands of people behind me,” she said.
However, her son told her they needed to stop, and she did. They abandoned the car in the leftmost lane and walked out. The driver behind her had stopped a distance behind her as well and left a berth of space for her to walk backward to safety.
“I can’t believe we survived,” she said. “I feel fortunate that we ended up not hurting anyone and being ok. I feel very thankful for those people who stepped up.”
People continued to help Goodman as she was stranded on the road. An Uber driver pulled up beside her and offered her a ride, and a CHP officer stopped to help.
The cop told her to get into the car and shut down two lanes of traffic. About 10 minutes after she got out of the car, it was fully engulfed in flames.
“I have to thank him because he did such an ace job,” Goodman said of the officer. “He was kind, patient. He really knew what he was doing.”
Eventually, a flatbed truck dragged the torched car off the road. Goodman’s son missed his flight back home to Detroit.
Goodman believes the dealership caused whatever happened went wrong with the car. She said in January she was getting regular service done when the dealership told her it found a minor leak in the car’s oil pan. After that was fixed, she heard a rattle in the car and brought it back in. She believed it felt fine after that, and there was never any warning sign on the dashboard, even as the vehicle caught fire.
“I don’t know what the hell they did,” she said of the dealership.
Goodman declined to disclose the make and model of the car as she is still negotiating reimbursement. She said she feels rattled and is still processing the situation, but she feels bad for stopping traffic and is grateful that other drivers and the CHP officer stepped up to help.
“It could be a lot worse,” she said.
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