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Family, friends mourn six from Lodi who died in canal accident

Written by Chris Nichols and Natalie Flynn | San Joaquin News Service

Saturday, 19 July 2008

One was just 17, a former Lodi High School student. Another was 34 and the mother of three. Yet another was only 16 and considered the "jokester” of the neighborhood. Two more were nearly inseparable.

In all, six Lodi residents and a Merced man met a tragic end Tuesday afternoon, when two vehicles crashed near Westley and tumbled into the deep, swift water of the Delta-Mendota Canal.

Families this week remembered the departed as hard-working, generous souls.

They included fun-loving uncles and cousins, caring mothers and teenagers lost much too young.

Families began making arrangements to send the bodies of some of those killed to Mexico, a task that will take time and several thousand dollars for each body.

Below is a look at those lost in the crash.

Adan and Lucas Martinez
Adan, 23, and Lucas, 20, were nearly inseparable.

The uncle, Adan, and nephew, Lucas, had lived in Lodi for about four years, family members said, after arriving from Guerrero, Mexico.

Like the other victims in Tuesday’s crash, Adan and Lucas traveled throughout California and the West Coast, working from farm to farm, season by season.

By spring, it was cherries in Washington and Oregon.

Summer brought work in California’s tomato fields, and later its grape vineyards.

Neither was married. And though they did not have children of their own, they played constantly with their relatives’ young sons and daughters at the Martinez home, always showing affection.

Adan even used a picture of his 9-month-old cousin, Annabel, as the background on his cell phone, said Annabel’s mother, Rosi Martinez.

“He was looking forward to her first birthday,” Rosi said, standing on the steps of the Martinez home.

Though just 23, Adan was considered a leader in the Martinez home. On pay days, the jovial man often took the whole family to dinner.

“He would just get paid and say ‘Hey, are you guys ready to eat?’” said Araceli Martinez, Adan’s niece and Lucas’ cousin.

The two men spent nearly every moment together.

When they weren’t working or spending time with family, they’d be found playing basketball at Hale Park.

They hoped one day to return to Mexico, said Humberto Martinez, Adan’s nephew and Lucas’ cousin.
In the meantime, they were working to support their parents in their native country.

As Humberto spoke, buckets of freshly picked peaches sat in the Martinez driveway Wednesday afternoon.

“It is a sad reminder,” Humberto said. “(But) someone has to do the labor, the farm’s work.”

Eulalia Garcia, 34
Eulalia Garcia’s goddaughter, Fabiola Solis, remembers Garcia's devotion to family.

“She worked very hard for her sons until they could get here in America,” Solis said.

And the hard work paid off.

Solis said Garcia’s sons were able to move to her East Pine Street home about two years ago. Garcia also lived with her daughter Ivonne.

Other friends remember the motherly woman for her efforts in keeping the neighborhood safe.

She would remind children to stay out of the street and could often been seen making tamales for family and friends, said former co-worker Sandra Rivas.

“She was very nice; she tried to keep the neighborhood kids out of trouble,” Rivas said.

Wednesday afternoon, those neighborhood kids were cleaning Garcia’s porch and tidying up the lawn.

It was unclear when Garcia moved to Lodi, but neighbors agreed she had been there awhile, because she first lived down the street in another home.

Garcia’s brother-in-law, Francisco Martinez, said Garcia and her husband, Alejandro Garcia, would do anything to help out.

Isaac Tapia, 16
Isaac Tapia, the youngest of Wednesday’s victims, was known for his smile. He would walk through the East Pine Street neighborhood where he lived with Eulalia Garcia, grinning and telling jokes.

Some were good, some a little corny.

“Isaac would always come to the house and make jokes,” said 16-year-old Dalila Escobedo, a friend of the family. “They were funny, but sometimes, they weren’t that funny.”

Luis Sanchez, 19, a former co-worker of Tapia, said he was working to save money for a car. But, in his spare time, Tapia could be seen cleaning Garcia’s yard and gardening.

“He was always trying to help; he took care of the lawn ... planted plants around the house,” Sanchez said. “He wanted the area to look nicer.”

Also known for his competitiveness in the handball court, Tapia would clean for friends’ mothers, sometimes staying all night to help, Escobedo said.

Adriana Garcia, 17
The former Lawrence Elementary School volunteer was best known in the East Pine Street community as a hard worker.

She dropped out of Lodi High School to work and raise money to help her mother pay for rent, said neighbor Yesenia Zabala.

And she always remained cheerful and friendly.

“She was caring and always had a smile on her face,” Escobedo said. “I remember seeing her (smile) when I would go to the park.”

In her spare time, Garcia chatted with neighbors and watched over the young children when parents were unavailable.

“She likes playing with the kids,” Zabala said. “She was a good friend; I just moved here, and she saw me outside and we just started talking.”

Escobedo said Garcia moved to the United States from Pueblo, Mexico, in sixth grade, when she was 11 years old. It is unclear where she may have gone to elementary and middle school.

Elizar Cruz, 19
The Lodi teen worked to save up money to build a house for his parents in Chiapas, Mexico, according to Cruz’s cousin, Julian Perez Cruz, who was at the accident scene.

Though family and friends of Cruz could not be found later in the week, the Martinez family identified him as a co-worker of Adan and Lucas Martinez.

Other witnesses at the scene said he has family in both Bakersfield and Lodi.

Luis Llamas Perez, 45
The Merced man was the driver of the septic truck. His body was recovered Tuesday evening when the truck was pulled from the canal.

The vehicle is owned by United Site Services Inc., a Westborough, Mass.-based company.

Company officials said Llamas Perez had been servicing portable toilets in a nearby orchard before the crash.

Llamas Perez had no record of accidents since he began working as a service driver in 2000, and he was a dedicated employee, spokeswoman Paige Dawson said. He was married with three children.

Family members could not be reached for comment this week.

“We’ve lost a great family man and dedicated team member,” said Kevin Mellifont, vice president of United Site Services’ California region.

Donation funds set up for Lodi crash victims

A memorial for Adan and Lucas Martinez has been set up with Bank of America. Donations are accepted at the Kettleman Lane and School Street locations in Lodi.

Donations must be in check form, addressed to Belen Roman-Martinez, c/o Lucas and Adan Memorial Fund.

Checks can be mailed to 13 S. School St., Lodi 95240; or to 700 W. Kettleman Lane, Lodi 95240.

A memorial for Isaac Tapia and Eulalia and Adriana Garcia has been set up with Bank of America, and donations may be made at any of the bank’s branches nationwide, including those listed above.

Cash, checks, money orders and cashier’s checks are all accepted.

Checks should be made out to Theresa Tapia, c/o Isaac Tapia, Eulalia Garcia and Adriana Garcia Memorial Fund.

To find a branch via Bank of America’s Web site, go to http://bankofamerica.via.infonow.net/locator/atmbranch/

In Westley, people also can leave financial contributions at El Paisano Westley Market, 8629 Highway 33, or El Mercadito, 8829 Highway 33.