Woman dies in fiery Florida crash; passerby dies trying to help

OCALA, Fla. – A Good Samaritan who stopped to help put out a fire following a fatal crash on Friday afternoon went into cardiac arrest and died a short time later. The woman who was driving the SUV that crashed also died, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Henry Danielson, 63, was driving a construction water truck when he saw Susan Scott’s vehicle crash and catch fire. He was trying to put the fire out when he collapsed and was taken to a hospital, troopers said.

Scott, 69, was pronounced dead at the scene near Ocala.

Mark Bernstein told the Ocala Star-Banner he saw the SUV driving erratically just before the crash. He said the vehicle then drove into a tree, which fell on top of the SUV.

Bernstein said he stopped and tried to open the door of the vehicle, but it was too hot from the flames.

Another person performed CPR on the truck driver until paramedics arrived.

The newspaper reported the woman’s dog also died in the crash.

Investigators are trying to determine whether a medical event caused Scott to crash.