Star Prep Athlete Injured in Crash Fights for His Life : Accident: El Toro High cross-country runner is worst hurt of four teammates. He is surrounded by his family and friends as he lies comatose.

A gifted young cross-country runner was fighting for his life Saturday, a day after a traffic accident left him comatose and injured three of his El Toro High School teammates.

Tomas Mejia, 16, remained in the intensive care unit at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, surrounded by family and friends, including his coach.

“We just need people to be praying,” said Rick Hagin, the boy’s cross-country coach at El Toro High. “He’s a fighter. If anybody is going to make it, he will.”

The others injured were in better condition Saturday. Carlos Marchan, 15, was in stable condition at Western Medical Center with broken bones, while Martin Pennell, 17, was in fair condition at Children’s Hospital at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center. A fourth runner, 15-year-old Andy Eads, was treated for a slight concussion but was not hospitalized.

The driver of the Chevrolet, David Mancino, 33, suffered minor injuries and was recovering Saturday at his home in Buena Park with his wife and three young daughters. The Sheriff’s Department is investigating the accident and has not issued any citations.

The teens had left practice at school Friday shortly before the crash at 10:50 a.m. They drove to a nearby Del Taco to get some food, Hagin said, and were heading back toward the school when the accident took place. The Honda Accord they were riding in collided with a 1970 Chevrolet Impala at Toledo Way and Ridge Route, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Firefighters had to use “jaws of life” equipment to free the boys. A helicopter was brought in to lift Mejia and Marchan to the hospital.

John Mancino said his son David told him the crash happened so suddenly he couldn’t do anything to avoid it.

“He was really in shock yesterday,” his father said. “As his mind clears, he’s pretty much saying the same thing. He was going about 35 m.p.h. and had the green light. It happened so quickly.

“It’s just too bad, you hate to see any kids hurt like this,” he continued. “My heart goes out to the parents.”

From his hospital bed Saturday, Pennell said he was feeling much better, although he faced reconstructive surgery on his cheek bones, which were fractured in the crash.

He said he was very worried about Mejia, one of his best friends on the cross-country team. His nurses made frequent calls to Western Medical Center to check on Mejia’s condition for him.

Pennell said he and Mejia shared a love of competitive running. “I don’t know how well I can run without him and how well he can run without me,” Pennell said. “I need him with me because he really inspires me when I am running.”

The El Toro team, among the largest in the county, was poised to have its best season ever, Pennell said. The team finished fourth in the Sea View League last year, and Mejia and Pennell qualified for the Southern Section meet.

Pennell said that only a week ago Mejia, Eads and he had returned from high-altitude running camp in Big Bear. Before the crash, they had run 10 miles from the high school to Laguna Beach.

“This was just like the worst thing that could ever happen,” he said Saturday.

Since the accident, Pennell said, teammates and other friends, Coach Hagin and coaches from other schools have come to the hospital to show their support.

“There are 15 out there (in the hall) right now and it has been that way since noon yesterday,” he said.

His father, John, who flew from a business trip in Seattle as soon as he heard of the crash, was thankful for his own son’s improvement, but concerned about the others.

“Our prayers are with them,” he said. “They’re just a real great group of boys.”

Meanwhile, stunned school officials and classmates worked Saturday to set up a fund to help families pay for medical expenses. Paul LaBlanc, dean of students at El Toro High School, said he hoped to do so this week.

“It’s such a shame,” LaBlanc said. “One day you see them laughing and running. And then the next day their whole lives are changed.”