Who Saw the Fateful Crash? : CHP Frustrated by Lack of Witnesses

The accident involved a spectacular, high-speed collision on Santiago Canyon Road.

In heavy rain, a pickup truck had collided Tuesday near Peters Canyon Road with a subcompact car, critically injuring the young female driver and inflicting deep cuts on the truck driver.

But when California Highway Patrol officers converged on the scene to investigate, they could not find a witness, even though the collision had occurred during the morning rush hour at a time when the two-lane road was so congested that a 10-mile traffic backup ensued.

Someone reported the 7:20 a.m. accident by cellular telephone, prompting a quick response by paramedics and law enforcement officers. But the absence of any witnesses to describe what happened and verify who was at fault has left CHP officers angry and disappointed.

“It’s typical. No one wants to get involved,” said CHP Officer Mike Lundquist. “These people are all racing to work and they figure it’s not them. It’s not their job.”

The woman lies in a coma at United Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, with her family maintaining an around-the-clock vigil at her bedside. Nichole Garcia, 22, of Trabuco Canyon suffered skull fractures and has been on life-support systems since the accident. She was on her way to her new job as an instructor at a preschool when the accident occurred.

The driver of the pickup, Ernesto Elisalde, 19, of La Puente, was treated and released at United Western Medical Center for head bruises and side injuries. se

Elisalde told authorities that the left front tire of his 1983 Mazda pickup blew out and he slammed on the brakes. Elisalde, a painter who was heading to his job, said the next thing he remembered after the accident was sitting on a curb.

In the absence of witnesses, CHP Officer Wally Seibert, theorized that, based on the point of impact between the passenger side of the pickup and the front end of Garcia’s westbound 1981 Toyota Celica, the pickup veered left into oncoming traffic.

From the damage, Seibert estimated the speed of the pickup at 45 m.p.h. and the speed of Toyota at 55 m.p.h. Because of the rain-slicked asphalt, there were no skid marks--usually a reliable gauge of speed.

Based on his 20 years in law enforcement, Seibert, 47, said he is “almost positive” that the reconstruction is accurate and that Elisalde, not Garcia, was at fault. No citations have been issued pending the completion of the investigation.

But without eyewitnesses, Seibert said he cannot be certain. Seibert has visited the accident site twice this week in hopes someone who saw the collision would stop and talk. No one did.

“The importance of witnesses is to verify the fact that this is in fact the way it did happen, and that the girl wasn’t doing anything wrong,” Seibert said. “If the girl was wrong, then I should change my report.”

Witnesses are important as insurers attempt to decide how to assess the costs of the accident. Elisalde’s statement may not be used against him should a civil lawsuit be filed, Seibert said. That leaves only the officer’s guess of who was at fault, a fact which he said could be exploited if the incident triggers a lawsuit.

Although this is not the first time the CHP has investigated a traffic accident in which no witnesses came forward, Seibert said it is unusual in a collision so severe, with so many onlookers.

“I find it hard to believe that nobody can be a witness,” he said. “We have one near-fatal. We have another victim with a major head injury. Both vehicles are totaled. And here we sit with no one coming in.”

Garcia’s family is also incredulous.

“It’s unbelievable that they didn’t,” Garcia’s mother, Sylvia Garcia of Trabuco Canyon, said as she and other family members waited outside the intensive-care ward at United Western Medical Center on Thursday night.

“I just hope someone will come forward and shed some light,” added David Garcia of Walnut, the victim’s father.

Sylvia Garcia said her daughter had just moved to Trabuco Canyon from the Montebello area shortly before the crash. She is engaged to be married and had just begun a job at a preschool in Garden Grove, after having worked as a secretary since high school.

Gus Fernandez, an uncle with whom the pretty young woman was staying, said that he remembered Garcia walking out the door for work that morning in an upbeat mood.

“Everything was fine,” Fernandez said, “other than the rain.”