Fund established to help Trayer children after mother killed, father hospitalized

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http://eastcountymagazine.org/node/4790 CHP: DRIVER WHO STRUCK MOTORCYCLES NEAR OCOTILLO HAD NO ALCOHOL IN BLOOD; WILL NOT FACE CHARGES

Fund established to help Trayer children after mother killed, father hospitalized

By Miriam Raftery

November 15, 2010 (Ocotillo) –The odor of burned rubber still hangs heavy in the air along Highway 98 east of Ocotillo, where five people lost their life in a horrific crash on Saturday. A lone bouquet of flowers in the sand serves as a silent memorial to four members of the Lakeside Saddle Tramp Club and a car passenger who died at the scene.

Shards of twisted metal , skid marks and a burned spot on the pavement evoke the horror of what first responders have called the worst accident in memory.

Charred ash marks the spot where one motorcycle burned. Witnesses said a gold Honda Civic crossed the center line at 85-95 mph while attempting to pass motorcycles. Carlos Ramirez Bobadill, driver of a white Dodge Avenger, swerved to avoid a head-on collision with the Civic, but lost control and slammed into the motorcycles.

A blood alcohol test on Bobadill has come back negative, indicating Bobadill had no alcohol in his system when he struck the group of motorcyclists from Lakeside’s Saddle Tramp Club. Bobadill had swerved to avoid a head-on collision with a gold Honda Civic. The blood test was ordered after a CHP officer believed he smelled alcohol on Bobadill’s breath five hours after the accent. Exonerated by the blood test, Bobadill will not face charges for driving under the influence.

Authorities continue to seek the driver of the Honda Civic, who fled the scene and was reportedly wearing a baseball cap. Border surveillance tapes are being reviewed to see if the car entered Mexico. The accident, written up by CHP as a hit and run, also seriously injured five other riders.

“ The accident occurred in clear weather on a flat, straight stretch of roadway.It was like a bomb went off,” John Lombardo, one of those injured and a founding member of the club, told the Union-Tribune.

The accident site was out of cell phone range, so several bikers rode to a gas station eight miles away to call for help. It took 30 minutes for the first emergency responders to reach the scene, a Border Patrol agent in Ocotillo said today.

Bobadill remains at a hospital in fair condition, NBC news reports. His passenger, Ana Lilia Gonzalez, 31, died. Other fatalities were Lance and Amy Heath of Alpine, Bill Miller of Ramona, and Tonya Trayer of El Cajon.

Trayer’s husband, Wilson, was also seriously injured and remains hospitalized. A trust fund has been established to help the Trayer family, NBC news reports. The Trayers had three children. Donations can be made through the Union Bank of El Cajon, at 580 North 2nd St.

Other victims injured are Kelly Halley and William Barnes, both in serious condition, according toa UCSD Medical Center spokesperson Kim Edwards, and Melanie Barnes, who is in critical but stable condition.

Bobadill remains at a hospital in fair condition, NBC news reports. His passenger, Ana Lilia Gonzalez, 31, died.

A Harley Davidson dealer in San Diego is reportedly organizing a blood drive on Saturday, November 205h from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to help those who remain hospitalized with wounds ranging from internal injuries to broken bones to brain hemorrhaging.

A memorial service s planned for Tonya Trayer on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Renegade Bar and Grill on Old Highway 80, east of Lake Jennings. Services have not yet been announced for others who lost their lives in the tragedy.