A new bride and four of her friends were killed in a tragic limousine fire in San Francisco on Saturday.

Neriza Fojas had been celebrating her recent marriage with a girls’ night out; all nine women were looking forward to an evening of fun after throwing a bridal shower for Fojas. But after just a short drive in their limo, the women noticed smoke coming from the rear of the Town Car. When they alerted the driver, he pulled over on the San Francisco Bay bridge to take a look. As soon as he got out, the car erupted into flames.

Four of the women escaped; three were rescued by witnesses who pulled them to safety, and one woman managed to crawl through the partition separating the back seat from the driver. The other five, including the bride, died while scrambling to fit through the partition. Firefighters found them lying on top of one another.

“This is one of the most horrific things I’ve seen in 21 years with this office,” San Mateo County’s medical examiner, Robert Foucrault, said Sunday. “Looking at it, they were on top of each other and doing what they could to get out.”

At least two of the women are in critical condition today. The driver, 46-year old Orville Brown, was highly distraught and is assisting investigators as they try to figure out what caused the fire.

“We got out by the grace of God. I just wish that I could have done more,” Brown said. “It’s something you never imagine will happen.”