Good Samaritans killed: Fundraiser to help pay ambulance fees

This post has been corrected. See note below for details.

City Councilman Paul Krekorian is expected to announce Thursday a fundraising effort to help pay the ambulance fees for two women electrocuted when they tried to help a driver in a Valley Village car crash.

Krekorian said the families of Stacey Schreiber, 39, and Irma Zamora, 40, should not have to pay the bills. He was working with fire officials to determine how much the fees will be.

“No one who puts themselves in harm's way should have to struggle to pay the bills that accrue as a result of their altruism,” Krekorian said in a statement.

PHOTOS: Good Samaritans electrocuted after crash

The tragic series of events began the evening of Aug. 22 when 19-year-old Arman Samsonion of Glendale crashed his SUV into a light pole and fire hydrant at Magnolia Boulevard and Ben Avenue.

Schreiber and Zamora tried to rescue the man but ran into water charged by downed power lines. Half a dozen other people were injured from electrical shocks.

Community members have been talking about securing fee waivers for the families.

"It's not up to us to make the decision," says Capt. Jaime Moore, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department. "It would have to be done through city government."

Ambulance fees are determined based on the type of care, what the care entailed and the distance the ambulance traveled, Moore said.

[For the record, 10:10 a.m. Aug. 30: A previous version of this post stated incorrectly that Krekorian said the families could not afford to pay the bills; he said they shouldn't have to pay them.]

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-- Melissa Leu

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Photo: A candle burns last week at the scene of a fatal car accident in Valley Village. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times.