Mother of 2 Girls Killed in Accident Goes Home

The mother of two young girls who died in a head-on crash on California 126 went home Friday, as the driver of the car that allegedly caused the accident remained hospitalized with a broken nose and chest injuries, apparently unaware that two people had died.

Diane Tello returned to the family’s Ventura home with her husband, Mike, early Friday afternoon. Her husband was not in the car at the time of the accident. The couple declined to comment on their family tragedy.

As the Tello family received condolences and flowers from friends, neighbors tried to make sense of the terrible loss.

One neighbor, who did not want to be identified, described 11-year-old Katie and 8-year-old Andrea as happy, athletic girls who played softball and were members of a 4-H Club.

“We bought cookies from them,” said the neighbor, who is the mother of a young girl. “They are a good family. This is the worst thing in the world that could happen to a family.”

A few miles away from the Tello home, Juan Ramirez--whose car rammed into the Tello’s minivan--lay in a hospital bed recuperating from his injuries.

Ramirez, 30, said in a interview from his hospital bed on Friday that his memory is fuzzy and he does not recall what happened immediately before the accident.

Ramirez was taken to the hospital immediately after the accident and a CHP officer said he had probably not been informed about the deaths.

Ramirez, who speaks little English, said he had not read any newspapers or seen any television newscasts since the day of the accident and gave no indication he was aware of its tragic results.

Although the California Highway Patrol has ruled out drugs and alcohol as contributing to the crash, it will recommend to prosecutors that Ramirez be charged with manslaughter for the death of the two girls, CHP spokesman Dave Cockrill said.

Authorities say they are waiting to talk to Ramirez’s wife, Norma Fuentes, a passenger in the car who is in guarded condition at Ventura County Medical Center, before they can determine if Ramirez fell asleep at the wheel.

Fuentes received multiple fractures, chest and head injuries in the crash.

Ramirez said he, his wife and their 10-month-old son, Jesus, were returning from a three-day trip to Reno, where they had visited friends.

Still groggy and with a nasal voice from his broken nose, Ramirez said they had stopped to rest several times during their road trip home and that he did not feel sleepy.

A Ventura County resident for eight years, Ramirez said he and his family had driven across that stretch of highway many times on their way to Six Flags Magic Mountain and to the Los Angeles Zoo.

Ramirez was described by friends and colleagues as a hard-working young man who tried to send money home to his native Mexico.

His co-workers at Tucks Point seafood restaurant in Ventura, where he has worked as a cook for the past three years, expressed sadness for the two families and hoped Ramirez would be back to work soon.

“He gets along with everybody,” said Phillip Mares, bar manager at the restaurant. “He’s a really nice guy. At first he was quiet and shy. But once you got to know him he could make you laugh and tell jokes and all that.”

On Friday, Ramirez said he had not been told how his wife was doing. Ramirez said he had met the 20-year-old Fuentes through his sister in their native Mexico City, and the pair had been married two years.