Witnesses say a woman who died after a Leimert Park house fire left the burning residence, but then went back inside. Marin Austin reports for the NBC4 News at 11 a.m. on Monday Jan. 16, 2017.
A 53-year-old woman died after she was pulled out of a home that burned in the Leimert Park area of South Los Angeles, authorities said Monday.
The fire was reported at 10:41 p.m. Sunday at 3730 South Edgehill Dr., said Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
There was light smoke coming from the single family home when firefighters arrived, Stewart said. The fire had burned an overstuffed couch, but a cause was not immediately determined, she said.
The woman who resided in the house was taken to a hospital, where she died, Stewart said. Witnesses said the woman initially came out of the burning house, then returned inside and never returned.
It was not immediately clear why the woman went back inside the home.
"I guess she ran back in the house, I don't know, trying to save it," said mother Alberta Thacker.
The victim was identified as 53-year-old Stacey Thacker-Hammonds, a city of Los Angeles employee for about 20 years.
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The house had smoke alarms but it is not known if they were functioning, she said.
