Samaritan Recounts Rescue Effort At Ygnacio Valley Road Crash Scene

The following is a vetted account of how civilians – one in particular – reacted and sprang into action following a horrific, ultimately fatal crash on Ygnacio Valley Road Saturday. It is presented as it was sent to us, with minor redactions made for the sake of family members. The author has expressed an interest in connecting with others – rescuers and victims – who were involved. Aside from the lone fatality, all of those involved in this crash appear to be in stable condition and on their way to recovery. DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that this is a vivid account of a critical incident and that sensitive readers may not want to read further. Ed.

Afternoon,

Thanks for responding. I’ve been concerned how all involved were doing, just hoping they’re doing okay.
I’ve told this to the officers but this is the first time im writing it down in detail so I apologize if it seems like a lot.

We were right behind the Jeep, about 50 yards back, after we left the light traveling up the hill in lane number 2. The Jeep was in the number 1 lane just ahead. We briefly lost sight of it slightly as it made the vier left – bushes and trees in the center divider blocked our view – when it came back into sight, we saw it going over and sliding. The Prius was already facing us; at the time the car was so mangled it was unrecognizable I only learned it was a Prius after I debriefed with officers – I only knew it as the “grey car” until that point.

We pulled over immediately. I ran to the crash while my wife called 911. I was the first one on scene. Running up the hill, I was met by this little grey dog – I tried to direct it away, but it just kept running. I got to the Jeep first. The driver was beating on the roof hatch, forcing it open and it popped off.

I asked if they were okay. Two voices inside shouted back “no,” which was what I expected, but I just wanted to know how many people were in there for a head count. I told them help was on the way, they seemed to be moving on their own, so I pivoted my attention to assess the grey car’s occupants which now had a small flame on top of the engine block. I remember looking at that flame, feeling all the fluids from the crash making it slippery on the floor, and just having a sense of urgency like time was very limited.

I got to the driver’s door first. Looking inside, it was hard to see inside with this tan-brownish haze lingering from the airbags, probably mixed with smoke from the fire. I banged on the window and yelled, trying to get a response yelling “hey! are you okay, can you hear me?” I got no response or acknowledgement. At that moment, another man came up next to me also beating on the window saying to “open the door, we’re here to help…” with no response. He looked at me and said, “we need to break the window.” I was concerned we were premature on breaking it having to possible pull her out with sharp glass everywhere, I told him to hang on so we could try from the back door.

I grabbed the handle of the back door and it was unlocked, opening right up. I was surprised to see a young girl (teen, probably) just sitting there that i wasn’t able to see from the front window due to the haze. I yelled “give me your hand we have to go” and she never said a word just started crawling towards me, I reached in moving whatever was laying between us from the rear seat, grabbed her hand as she crawl out. I told her to get away from the car, and I never saw her again.

The other man was still banging on the driver’s window, trying to get a response while he waited for me to reach in from the back seat and try to grab the door handle, but it was so far wedged that it was impossible to grab ahold of. Coming out of the backseat, I noticed more people had stopped and were helping the Jeep’s occupants.

We turned our attention back to the driver’s window silently agreeing to break it. The other man grabbed the top of the slightly exposed window seal, and so did I. As we pulled, I hit the top corner with my right fist – causing the tempered glass to shatter. We both reached in, shaking the driver, and yelled, but got no response. I placed my fist on her sternum, pushing and rubbing in a circle to try to get her to react – [but got no response]. We grabbed the top of the door and started yanking, trying to pry it open, but it was so wedged only the window frame was giving.

After a few hard pulls on the door shaking the car, the front passenger must have regained consciousness because she started screaming. I hadn’t seen her at first – her seat was pinned forward and she was half covered by the airbag. Me and the guy ran around to the passenger side, where at least one more person had stopped to help. We grabbed the top of that door to break it the same way, and it also shattered just from the three of us pulling on it.

I have a vivid memory of this moment — the young girl was facing us, stuck laying forward on the dash between the seat and the deflated airbag. Her eyes were looking up at us, [redacted]. She made this panicked sound – not quite a scream, not quite a yell. Flames were getting bigger from the engine bay, more smoke was pouring in, and the heat was starting to radiate inside of the car.

With three guys trying to get in one window I stepped back and saw a white tractor-trailer slowly coming down the hill in the opposite direction. Through my work I know they’re required by law to carry a fire extinguisher, so I ran across the median to flag it down. I yelled for his fire extinguisher, but the driver just put his hands up shaking his head, never slowing saying “No, no, no, no, no,” [redacted] and kept going.

Turning back around, I saw more people on scene tending to others who were out of the jeep. I hurried back to the passenger door of the grey car, where some dude said “we gotta get her out now” and three of us started pulling on the door it to make more room so we could upright her seat and free her. Someone pulled a knife and cut the seatbelt, while another man got inside the car behind the seat and started pulling the seat back. We reached down to pull her out, but she screamed in pain and resisted.

The flames were now inside the car, black smoke filling the air – “we have to do this NOW” I said. The other man got his arms behind her, I wrapped mine around the front of her into her armpits, and we just pulled with everything we had. Her body kind of slithered out of its contorted position, we dragged her a few feet back to the median, I told the other guy “you got her?” he responded “yeah”, so I ran back to the Jeep that was now on fire in the front, to open the back window and confirm no one was left inside. I had lost track of who was where by then and didn’t realize both occupants were already out.

I ran back to the driver’s side of the grey car where one other guy was, I reached in and grabbed her white shirt trying to pull to pull her up – but she was so wedged in by the steering wheel and seat. Another man and I tried grabbing her in various ways together but there was no good leverage point. So we ran around to the passenger side rear door where we had more room to try going in. He went in first, but retreated quickly. I jumped in but quickly retreated as well. the heat at head height was insane while breathing was nearly impossible from the smoke.

We look at each other and pulled our shirts off to tie around our faces like a makeshift mask, but before we could go back in, another man stopped us, saying it was too dangerous. Initially I brushed him off as being too cautious, but when I looked in, the flames had spread [redacted].

I put my shirt back on. Looked around to see everyone we’d gotten out was being tended too by other people who stopped. I could hear sirens but saw cars blocking both lanes. So, I ran down the hill, yelling for people to move over to make room for them.

A female officer arrived – first responder on scene. I told her how many people there were and that one was still trapped in the grey car. Seconds later, fire trucks arrived. I went back to check on my wife and kids. As more officers arrived, I notified them of my involvement and where I’d be standing if they needed a statement.

All of that happened in four minutes and a handful of seconds – from my wife calling 911 to me checking back on them.

Reflecting back, I still don’t know how the accident happened. I don’t remember ever seeing the Prius in our flow of traffic form further down Ygnacio but I remember the jeep next to us most the time. It was puzzling to me why both vehicles only had damage in the front. And the damage was so severe. The only explanation I can think of is a head-on crash, which would put the Prius going the wrong way. It’s the only way I can comprehend how severe the damage was.

I’ve replayed this in my head a lot, and I’m told it’s normal. We did what we could, and we saved who could be saved. I admire the others who stopped to help, and I thank them – whoever they are. They accepted the danger and knew what needed to be done.

Again, sorry this was so long, it felt good to write it down.

ADDENDUM: If you have any information of the condition of the victims who were transported, I appreciate it. To be clear i am not looking for personal information, contacts, anything to identify anyone, I just circling back for closure on my end, I guess.