The San Francisco Coroner identified the couple killed in a fiery taxi cab crash Monday. Dennis Marshall, 61, and his wife Karen Marshall, 59, died when the taxi they were riding in lost its brakes, crashed and burst into flames.
The cab driver said he knew he was having trouble with his brakes so he took the Mariposa Street off-ramp San Francisco around 11 a.m. Monday.
The taxi smashed into a support beam of Highway 280 and caught fire, according to witnesses.
The Marshall's had just arrived from Cincinnati, Ohio and was on their way to the Mark Hopkins hotel in San Francisco for a summer vacation trip.
The Karen Marshall died at the scene of the crash. Her husband Dennis died a few hours later at a hospital.
Three sheriff's deputies, who were nearby when the crash happened, pulled the passengers out of the burning cab. The driver was able to get himself out. They suffered burn wounds and smoke inhalation for their efforts, which are being called heroic.
The deputies have been identified as: Z. Ralleta, with the department since March 2007; R. Rood, with the department since September 1998; and C. Sheriff, with the department since August 2001.
Local
The taxi was a Desoto cab registered in San Francisco. It is possible the cab driver, Fageh Hassan Behbahani of Daly City, will be charged in the case. Authorities said Tuesday that he is under criminal investigation. because he did not pull over when he first smelled smoke.
Behbahani suffered injuries but was released from the hospital Monday. He told the San Francisco Chronicle that he wasn't ready to talk about the accident.
