KING CITY, Calif. - Margarito Dominguez from Greenfield got out of surgery at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital on Thursday night. He's one of 15 people injured in Wednesday night's deadly crash on Highway 101 in King City. His family considers him fortunate.
Maria Dominguez shared one of her favorite photos of her children with their father, Margarito. She couldn't help but be sad, knowing the field worker will spend the next couple of months in a wheelchair.
"I'm sad because I didn't expect this to happen," says Maria Dominguez. "When I found out about his accident, I got really sad."
Margarito was heading home to Greenfield Wednesday night, after going to a funeral for one of his co-workers when this violent crash happened.
He was in one of two vehicles that tried to avoid the motor that flew off Vivian Ramirez's car. Like 14 other people, he was rushed to the hospital. His family said, he's lucky because he survived. Three people didn't. California Highway Patrol said, many of the victims are from Pleasanton and Napa.
"He saw a truck stopped, with its hazard lights on. He didn't think it was anything bad. He tried to go around it. He couldn't stop, hitting other cars that had stopped," says Dominguez.
CHP said Ramirez was driving under the influence and reached into her purse to grab her cell phone. CHP Sgt. Carl Churchfield said, while the severity of this crash is rare, the circumstances surrounding it isn't.
"One or two seconds of distraction while you are driving is enough to cause an extreme tragedy," says Sgt. Churchfield.
Last year, CHP issued more than 150,000 tickets in the state for cell phone use and driving. He said, this problem makes up 28 percent of all crashes in Monterey County.
Ramirez remains at a Bay Area hospital for a neck injury. She faces gross vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence charges.
Her neighbors said, she's a single mother with three children, who lives next door to her retired parents. They called them good people.
Submitted by Azenith Smith, Central Coast News
