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Officers: Big rig did not strike pickup in double fatal wreck
| Tuesday, May 20 2008 1:14 PM
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 21 2008 7:26 AM
The pickup truck that lost control on Washington Street and plummeted onto Highway 58, hit a big rig's trailer and not the other way around as earlier reported.
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Initial official reports said the Toyota Tundra landed on the freeway and was hit by the rig, killing the pickup’s driver, Roman Antonio Cordero, and passenger Jose Raymond Garcia.
But new details from officials and the big rig driver's account say the truck turned over in midair after hitting the guardrail, and rammed into the big rig's front trailer while still in the air, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The driver of the big rig, Bobby Smith, 53 of Bakersfield, was not hurt, but was extremely shaken up by the incident.
Smith was starting his shift with T&T Trucking, Inc. and was on his way to Shafter for a delivery before 8 a.m.
As he approached the Washington Street overpass, he saw a vehicle from the corner of his eye tumbling toward him “very fast,” Smith said.
“I knew it was going to hit me,” said Smith, who has been a truck driver for 16 years. “I grabbed the wheel and my first thought was to keep my vehicle under control. The impact pushed me sideways, but I corrected it.”
He immediately started braking and pulled over to the side of the freeway, he said. After checking out his big rig, he walked to the pickup where a crowd of people on cell phones had gathered.
Within a few minutes, fire officials were on scene. And after a few more minutes, officials laid a yellow tarp over the car, Smith said.
“I knew it was bad news from the beginning,” he said. “I feel so bad for the families.”
Bobby is taking the rest of the week off from work. Meanwhile, the families of the deceased are still mourning their loss.
Friends and family described Cordero, 36, as a giving person who was the life of any party.
Garcia, 27, the passenger of the pickup, got married in November and left behind a 2-month-old son, said Brian Ruff, his uncle-in-law. Joe, as he is known to friends and family, recently finished school to become an accountant.
Garcia and Cordero were “two of the most stand up men I've ever met,” Ruff said.
“Joe loved his wife and son,” Ruff said. “I would never expect him to do anything the least bit unsavory.”
Ruff said the two were on their way to pick up workout equipment, and then were going to eat breakfast.
Bakersfield Police are still investigating the cause of the crash.
“Investigators are looking at everything,” said Sgt. Greg Terry with the police department. “It takes a little time sometimes.”