TWO Australian women on a bus tour of Hollywood stars’ houses have told of the chaotic scenes as they accidentally witnessed the King of Pop’s final exit.
Helen Battaglia of Alfred Cove and her friend, Sally Wilson of Melbourne, were on a Starlight bus tour when their driver decided to show them Michael Jackson’s mansion.
“We turned into where Michael Jackson’s been staying and as we came round the corner we saw a fire truck.” 
“The driver said ‘Oh there’s a fire truck here, there’s a bit happening’.”
Ms Wilson said the bus pulled up in front of the gates of the mansion while photographers milled around the entrance.
“All of a sudden the gates open and out came the ambulance while paparazzi were all running and banging and trying to take photos in the back of the ambulance,” she said.
Ms Battaglia said the scene became chaotic as Jackson’s staff fought to block the paparazzi from grabbing final pictures of the dying star.
Ms Wilson said passengers on the bus had no idea what they were witnessing.
“It was all happening. We weren’t sure who was in the car at that stage,” she said.
“They were just yelling out and then the ambulance took off and two black SUVs came out of the driveway and followed it.”
The women said photographers dashed to follow the ambulance.
“The paparazzi were running towards our bus saying ‘go go go’,” Ms Battaglia said.
“They got in a car and took off driving erratically, chasing the ambulance,” she said.
“I couldn’t believe what was going on. It was surreal.”
As their bus then left the scene, the driver paused to speak to a local woman who sells maps to the stars’ houses.
“She was crying on the phone and the bus driver stopped and said “Mary, what’s going on? Is it him?” Ms Wilson said.
“She was wailing and crying but she couldn’t talk, she just said “Yes, it’s him. It’s Michael.”
The two women were feeling flat after their brush with celebrity death.
“Today we’re a bit sad about the whole thing,” Ms Wilson said.
The event lent a bizarre and tragic twist to a celebrity-filled day for the two Australians, who were staying at the historic Hotel Roosevelt, once home to Marilyn Monroe and Clark Cable.
Earlier that morning, Ms Wilson ran into Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as they were leaving the hotel.
“That was about 10.30 in the morning. I was just walking down a corridor with no one else there and this door flicks open and there’s Brad and Angelina,” she said.
Source : www.news.com.au
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