The State - News from Aug. 5, 1988

A Washington state farm laborer, his son and a nephew perished in a fiery crash in Lodi, when a despondent construction foreman rammed his car into their parked truck, and then committed suicide by walking in front of a speeding train, authorities said. The San Joaquin County coroner’s office said Felipe Rodriguez-Guitterez, 42, his 11-year-old son, Sergio Rodriguez-Angulo, and his 15-year-old nephew, Jesus Angulo, were sleeping in the back of a truck when they were struck by a car driven by Michael Nelson, 42, of Lodi. The California Highway Patrol said Nelson deliberately ran off the road and rammed the parked truck. Then, he left his car, stripped off his clothes and walked in front of a speeding Union Pacific train. He was killed instantly. Less than an hour earlier, police had gone to Nelson’s home to investigate a disturbance. The man’s son told officers that Nelson was feeling despondent and “speaking of suicide,” Lodi Police Lt. Bruce Dick said.