Woman charged with five counts of manslaughter in fiery crash

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A woman is facing five manslaughter charges in the fiery crash that killed five people in a single car.

“Five people died at Ajo and San Joaquin when a vehicle slammed into their SUV and that SUV caught fire. We talked to witnesses who say they tried to save the people in that burning car.

Sean Gueffroy says, “Whenever I went to go to touch the door, it was, like, touching the stove or something “

But Gueffroy says he was thinking of the people in that car as he and several other people pushed past the danger, and tried to break into the car to get the family out.

He knew the wreck was a bad one. He saw the impact on the car right in front of him.

“There was another silver car that was came flying up like, probably like 80 to 100 miles per hour, and it struck the car. Immediately, the other car that got struck went on fire.”

He says before he moved to the car with five people inside, he got the driver of the car that hit the SUV out of her car before the leaking gas set it on fire.

Arizona DPS says that driver was 33-year-old Malyn Christine Pavolka. Investigators say just a few seconds before impact, she drove about 80 miles per hour, ran a red light and drove past a state trooper to do it.

DPS says while being treated at Banner UMC, she told investigators she’s been diagnosed with a mental health disorder but did not believe the diagnosis, so wasn't taking any meds.

Detectives say she told them she was “just driving” and didn’t have any particular place to go.

Authorities moved her to the medical wing of the Pima County Jail. She’s charged with five manslaughters and will stay in jail until trial unless she can post a million-dollar bond.