Still, residents were struggling with the tragedy that unfolded before their eyes Friday evening, just north of York Boulevard, when an SUV rear-ended a stopped Nissan Altima, causing it to burst into flames. Inside the burning vehicle was an 11-month-old girl, strapped into her car seat. Her mother, unable to reach her amid the smoke and flames, screamed for help.

Salvador Martinez, 36, was in his backyard installing a fly trap when he heard the crash, then the screams. He ran toward the wreck — much as he has done ever since he was a boy growing up in the neighborhood. When he reached the car he saw a curly-haired girl in the back seat.

"My only goal was to get her out," Martinez said.

As motorists sat paralyzed in their cars, he tried to open the passenger's side door, but it was jammed. Someone broke the window with a baton and Martinez reached inside and yanked on the girl's car seat. But the seat wouldn't budge.

Heat seared his arms and face. He could see flames dancing inside the car, near the hand brake, inches from the girl's feet.

His neighbors surrounded the scene, their faces desperate.

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Martinez tried to unbuckle the girl's safety belt, but it burned his hands.

"I need scissors! I need a knife!" he yelled at his neighbors.

Someone in the crowd raced to get one, but by the time it arrived, it was too late, Martinez said. The car was engulfed in flames that pushed the would-be rescuers back.