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Car crash kills 4 Pacific Union students on snack run

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq.

St. Helena, California-

Four students from Pacific Union College near St. Helena died late Saturday when their speeding car slid into an oncoming vehicle.

Speaking to hundreds of grieving students at a service Sunday, the college’s president nearly broke down in tears. Richard Osborn’s voice swelled with grief, and he was forced to pause before asking for God’s help in dealing with the tragedy.

“It happened so fast, they didn’t even know it happened,” said Osborn, president of the Seventh-day Adventist college in the small community of Angwin.

The four young men, who all lived in the dorms, had just finished playing basketball on campus about 11 p.m. Saturday when they decided to drive the eight miles to Safeway in St. Helena for some late-night snacks.

They piled into a 2003 Honda Civic and began the drive down from Angwin, home to about 1,400 students and 800 permanent residents. The road connecting the community to St. Helena, Deer Park Road, is extremely winding as it drops 1,500 feet into the Napa Valley from Howell Mountain.

Boaz Pak, 20, lost control of the Honda on the last turn before the road straightens and rolls onto the valley floor.

He was driving excessively fast, according to the California Highway Patrol.

His car slid into the oncoming lane and collided with a Toyota T-100 pickup truck driven by Sandalio Martinez , 28, of Angwin. Martinex was in serious but stable condition Sunday at Santa Rosa Memoria Hospital.

The four young men died at the scene about 11:45 p.m.

Pak, 20, from the Hidden Valley area of Ventura County, was majoring in biology and was on a pre-pharmacy track.

Luke Nishikawa, a 22-year-old from Honolulu, was studying American history. He headed a campus outreach program called Homeless Ministries and had spent Saturday morning feeding the homeless, according to friends.

Chong Shin, a 20-year-old from Oregon, was studying business administration as a pre-dentistry student. Shin participated in youth ministry at the Rohnert Park Korean Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Simon Son, 19, also from Hidden Valley, was studying nursing.

Friends and family Sunday placed four white crosses at the scene of the accident, where debris was still scattered.

A third driver collided with the pickup truck after the initial accident. Carlos Rio Ortiz, 20, of Angwin was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Word about the accident spread quickly through the dorms early Sunday. Within hours, administrators began providing grief counseling for students, many of whom had gathered in dormitory lounges.

“The students are just starting to absorb it,” said Roy Ice, campus chaplain. “There is still shock. Initial shock.”

Friends and family lingered after the service held Sunday in the campus church.

“We’re here to support each other,” said student Tyler Cantrell, a close friend of Nishikawa’s. “I don’t know where we go from here.”

Some huddled in groups, holding one another and crying. Others wrote messages of love and grief on large cards intended for the families of the young men.

Son’s and Pak’s families arrived in time for Sunday’s service, while the families of Shin and Nishikawa were flying in from Oregon and Hawaii.

Many students and faculty members said they couldn’t sleep Saturday night.

“These were great guys,” Ice said.

Driving down to Safeway late at night for food is a common practice, said Julie Lee, college spokeswoman. But this is the first fatality in at least 15 years that the faculty could remember, Lee said.

In 1992, an 18-year-old student died of electrocution in the college’s swimming pool. His father, Josue Rosado, spoke at Sunday’s service and cautioned the families not to let the question of why the tragedy happened consume them.

“No one on this side of eternity will ever give me a satisfactory answer on why my son died,” Rosado said.

“No child is ever supposed to die before their parents.”

St. Helena Car Accident Attorney

Full post as published by California Personal Injury Law Blog on November 17, 2008 (boomark / email).