Fiery Car Crash Kills Family of 4; Other Driver Held

A 27-year-old San Bernardino man was booked for investigation of manslaughter and felony drunk driving in an accident that killed a family of four, authorities said Monday. The family, including two small children, burned to death Sunday when their car burst into flames after being rear-ended, authorities said.

Jerry Dale Patterson, 30, his wife, Cheryl, 33, their 4-year-old son, Jonathan, and their 8-month-old daughter, Bridget, were waiting at a red light at the corner of Highland and Mt. Vernon avenues when their 1965 Ford Mustang was struck from behind at 7:19 p.m., said Sgt. Dan Hernandez of the San Bernardino City Police Department.

The crash burst the gas tank of the Mustang, triggering a fireball, Hernandez said. “The victims were trapped inside.”

Glenn Edward Fugatt, who sustained minor head injuries in the crash, was being held Monday at San Bernardino County Jail.

Paul Allaire, spokesman for the San Bernardino City Fire Department, said the 1980 Toyota that Fugatt was driving “had major damage on the front end. You’re not going to get that at a slow rate of speed.” Allaire added that “witnesses said Fugatt never applied his brakes.”

On Monday, friends and neighbors of the family expressed sadness and anger over the accident. Some of them called the San Bernardino chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving for counseling. One of them placed a red rose on the doorstep of the Pattersons’ home, where a television had been left turned on in the living room.

“There is a vacuum in our lives now,” said neighbor Joyce Theios, 41, whose 5-year-old daughter, Elaine, frequently played with the Pattersons’ children. “We had made some new friends and someone took them away.”

Theios and others described the Pattersons as a quiet but friendly family who moved into their middle-class neighborhood in north San Bernardino about six months ago. They said Jerry Patterson was an automobile mechanic who frequently offered to fix his neighbors’ cars. Cheryl Patterson had organized house parties to sell household gift items.

Dolores Rodriguez, 48, spokeswoman for MADD in San Bernardino, said: “When I heard about it I sat there and cried. It was a tragedy that should not have happened.”

Rodriguez said her group plans to hold a neighborhood meeting later this week to “give the neighbors a touch, a hug, a chance to talk and cry.”

“We learned that Jerry Patterson’s father became seriously ill (on Sunday) when he learned of what happened to his son,” Rodriguez said. “But it has also affected many little children who no longer have two friends to play with.”