A Patterson woman and Modesto teen died after being injured in a three-vehicle crash Saturday morning on Jennings Road east of Patterson.
Though her husband managed to free her from a burning vehicle, Berenice Mora Corral, 33, of Patterson, died at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto. The 1998 Ford Explorer she had been driving collided with a full-sized 2007 Chevrolet 4x4 driven by David Morris, 18, of Modesto. He died at Memorial Medical Center in Modesto from accident-related injuries.
On a foggy, cool morning, Morris was driving the Chevy truck southbound on Jennings Road near Monte Vista Avenue at about 8:37 a.m. For unknown reasons, his truck veered into the northbound lane, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The front of the Chevy initially crashed into the left side of a northbound 1991 500SL Mercedes Benz driven by Corral’s common-law husband, Harvey Corral, 37, of Patterson. He was going about 50 mph.
“I was just talking to my son, and my son yells, ‘Watch out!’” Harvey Corral said. “I just turn to the right side and feel a very hard hit.”
Corral and his son survived their impact without any major injuries.
The Chevy truck then continued traveling south and hit Berenice’s northbound-Ford head-on. The couple were on a caravan to their son’s soccer game in Modesto, along with a third vehicle in the rear that avoided the accident.
The Ford and Chevy spun to the east shoulder, and the vehicles caught fire.
Corral got out of his car and heard screams from the third vehicle.
“I heard my daughters crying ‘Mom, mom, mom,’” he said.
Corral went to help his wife.
The Explorer had rolled on its side, so Corral went to the passenger door.
“I grabbed her by the pants and took her out when there was already fire inside,” he said.
After freeing her, Corral’s attention turned to Morris.
“The kid was yelling, ‘Help me, please help me,’” Corral said. “I tried to do my best, trying to take the kid out.”
Corral could not remove Morris from the crushed cab of the Chevy. When emergency responders arrived, they freed Morris from the wreckage.
“It was very hard,” Corral said. “He was just a little kid.”
Corral returned to his wife, and with the assistance of another man moved her clear of the accident. He sat on the side of the road with the woman he had known for almost 20 years lying in his arms.
Her mouth started to fill with blood, Corral said. He cleared it and started talking to her. Eventually, Corral said, she stopped responding.
Emergency crews were on the scene within minutes of the accident being reported.
“(When we got there,) both vehicles were on fire,” said Westport Fire Protection District Chief Gary Thompson. “On the east side of the road, the man was caring for the woman the best he could.”
Heavy fog prevented helicopters from landing and transporting the injured, Thompson said.
“We would have liked to have had a helicopter, but we couldn’t get it in there,” he said.
Ambulances took Morris and Berenice Corral to Modesto hospitals. Later, doctors pronounced both dead.
The CHP is uncertain why Morris veered into oncoming traffic. They don’t know his speed before the collision and don’t suspect alcohol or drugs played a factor. At the time of the crash, fog limited visibility to about 500 feet, according to a CHP report.
Thompson said accidents like Saturday’s are pretty rare, though there have been similar tragedies in the area from time to time.
To reach John Saiz at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed