re: #204 Page 3 in the Binder of Women

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This one was beyond horrible, something straight out of a movie:

She just wanted pictures. In Richmond Hill, Queens, a power line the length of a block on 105th Avenue between 134th and 135th Streets snapped and crumpled to the ground. The frayed end of the line began sparking wildly.

Around 8 on Monday night, a 23-year-old woman who lived at the end of the block came out to her driveway clutching a camera.

Her name was Lauren Abraham, and she went by Lola. She was a makeup artist who worked for several professional agencies. She maintained a makeup studio in the basement of the house, which her parents owned. The third floor was vacant, and so she used it as a makeshift photography studio for shots to advertise her makeup skills.

She was attending beauty school, but had also been studying at Lehman College to become a social studies teacher.

Elpidio Nunez, a close friend for 10 years, said she was passionate about making her friends look gorgeous before a night out at the clubs.

“She was a beautiful girl, very carefree, she was never depressed,” Mr. Nunez said. “I had never seen her cry.”

Tamica Penn, 22, her best friend, said, “If you ever needed to talk, she would be there.”

The two had spoken at 7 p.m., an hour before she went outside to take her pictures of the downed power line.

The line was still sparking as Ms. Abraham walked down the driveway and into the rain-drenched street. She came into contact with one end of the snapped wire.

She caught fire.

A half-dozen or so witnesses watched in utter horror. They said her body burned for about a half-hour before the police and firefighters arrived.