Who Is Jane Doe No. 49? Jewelry Worn by Woman in 1999 Car Crash Might Hold Answers to Her Identity

For 20 years, the victim in the fiery November 1999 crash on the 101 Freeway has been known to investigators as Jane Doe No. 49

A necklace with a Hershey Kiss-shaped pendant and a ring are some of the only clues authorities have when it comes to the identity of a woman killed more than 20 years ago in a fiery crash on a Los Angeles freeway. 

Photos of the necklace and a ring were released Monday by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner in an effort to identify the woman, who has been known to them only as Jane Doe No. 49.

The mystery began on the evening of Nov. 17, 1999 when the driver of a maroon 1985 Mitsubishi Galant pulled to the side of the 101 Freeway near Western Avenue to stop her disabled car. The sedan was then struck from behind by another vehicle, igniting a fire. 

The woman died at the scene. Her body was unrecognizable due to the fire, the coroner's office said. 

The jewelry was about all that could be recovered from the burned wreckage.  

When investigators tried to identify her using the car's license plate, they found that the person to whom it was registered sold it a few months earlier. The car's seller no longer had information on the buyer, who had never updated information with the Department of Motor Vehicles, according to the coroner's office.

The woman is believed to be 18 to 35 years old. She was 5 feet to 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighed about 146 pounds.

And, that's about all investigators know about her, which is why they're hoping the jewelry she was wearing might fill in the blanks. The items include a necklace with a clear Hershey Kiss-shaped pendant with a twisted yellow metal chain and a yellow metal Claddagh ring with a clear heart-shaped stone and clear round stone. 

Anyone with information was asked to call 323-343-0754 and reference case No. 1999-07845.

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