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| Survivors, rescuers try to move on after crash |
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| Written by Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator | |
| Wednesday, 16 January 2008 | |
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“It’s the most hopeless feeling I’ve ever had in my life.” — David Gillespie, Roadside rescuer
Nearly three weeks after three men died in a car wreck east of Grayson, survivors are still recovering from crash-related injuries. California Highway Patrol officers say a few passers-by, including David Gillespie of Patterson, saved the lives of the driver and a passenger in the Dec. 27 accident. However, Gillespie said he wishes he could have done more. “It’s the most hopeless feeling I’ve ever had in my life,” he said this week. Gillespie and rural Modesto resident Kenny Galas were among those who helped save driver Dylan Fisher, 21, and passenger Walter Holcher, 32, of Ceres, from an overturned Toyota Camry west of Laird Road. Passing drivers righted the blazing vehicle and pulled the pair to safety. The other three passengers, John Ravera, 26, of Waterford, Brandon Miller, 25, of Modesto, and Cody Butler, 20, of Keyes, all died of fire-related injuries in the two-car crash on Grayson Road, according to the Stanislaus County coroner’s office. Jose Barahona, 40, of Delhi, whose Honda Accord was struck by the Camry, was taken to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto with major injuries. Fisher was driving the Camry westbound on Grayson Road at an undetermined speed when his car crossed into the eastbound lane and struck the Accord, according to the CHP. A preliminary report says Barahona’s car was traveling between 55 and 60 mph. An engine fire started in the Toyota after it came to rest on its right side in the eastbound lane. Gillespie, driving home to Patterson from his trucking job in Keyes, spotted the overturned car and pulled over. He said one of the people inside the car already was in flames when he arrived. Several passengers were hanging out of the vehicle, crushed by the weight of the car on top of them. Gillespie and a few of other unknown people helped lift the car back onto its wheels and then began the task of trying to extract the victims. Gillespie smashed the driver’s-side window and pulled out Fisher, even as the driver cursed at Gillespie to leave him alone. Gillespie said he figured Fisher could get angry with him later. Gillespie also pulled Holcher out of the car. Another man and a woman tried to throw water on the car, but they couldn’t put out the flames fast enough, and Gillespie urged them to throw water on the people inside instead. The roadside volunteers used a chain to try to open another of the car doors to rescue the other passengers, but to no avail. “It seemed like it took forever for the fire department to get there, but it was probably only 10 minutes,” Gillespie said. Assistant Chief John Barindelli of the Westport Fire Department, which oversees the rural area south of Modesto where the crash took place, said the car was fully engulfed in flames by the time firefighters from the all-volunteer department arrived. By that time, Gillespie said, the heat had become so intense that everyone had to back away. Gillespie was later treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation and some cuts on his hand. He was quickly released. A neighbor and a television news report identified Galas as one of the other helpers, but the area resident could not be reached for comment. Several family members of the crash victims have thanked Gillespie, calling the roadside volunteers “heroes.” Dee-Dee Holcher, mother of Walter Holcher, said she was grateful for the work of the passers-by who saved her son’s life. “I think (Gillespie) needs all the glory he can get,” she said. “I’m very thankful that they got (Walter) out.” Barindelli said the Westport Fire Department also hopes to recognize the roadside volunteers, all of whom had left by the time firefighters began taking down names at the scene. Misty Rider, Miller’s fiancé, said she, too, appreciated their efforts, though her intended husband did not survive. “It took a lot of courage,” she said. Gillespie said the crash scene continues to haunt him, and he has wondered whether anything more could have been done. He hopes the other people who were there that day also are recognized. It’s safe to say the lives of everyone involved in the accident have changed since the Dec. 27 crash. Fisher, 21, was charged with manslaughter. He had been living in Ogden, Utah, at the time of the accident, but is now recovering in Modesto, where his family lives. Though the CHP is investigating whether drugs were involved in the accident, officer D. Crooker said last month that alcohol did not play a role in the crash. The full CHP report is incomplete, and the preliminary report says only that an “unsafe turning move” led to the accident, CHP officer Tom Killian said. The investigating officer who is working on the report is on vacation until next week, Killian said. Fisher could not be reached for comment. However, Rider said he contends that one of the passengers took hold of the steering wheel and began “messing around” with it before the wreck. Dee-Dee Holcher said she had never heard anything about someone grabbing the steering wheel. Rider said Fisher had just returned to Modesto at the time of the accident, and the friends in the Camry were on their way to hang out. “They were going to kick back and have fun,” she said. Both Walter Holcher and Fisher are now in wheelchairs. Dee-Dee Holcher said her son is slowly recovering. It has been a challenging time for the Westport Fire Department, too, which has handled six auto-related deaths in the past couple of months. Those include Berenice Mora of Patterson and David Morris of Modesto, who died in a fiery crash on Jennings Road on Nov. 17. Barindelli said it is unusual to have so many fatal accidents in the area, and to have burn victims in two of the accidents is even more unusual. “I don’t know why the cars are catching fire now when they’re getting in wrecks,” he said. To reach Jonathan Partridge 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
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