By Larry Judkins
Glenn County Observer
Grief.
Pure, inconsolable grief.
This was the dominant sight and sound at the scene of a fatal vehicle accident Thursday evening on January 12, especially after family members of the deceased began arriving.
A brother arrived at scene first, walking on the north side of the road from east of the accident scene at the intersection of East Walker Street and Papst Avenue. As he neared the scene, he began approaching the body lying in the westbound side of East Walker Street, in the right turn lane for northbound Papst Avenue.
Law enforcement officers saw him and, firmly but as gently as they could, stopped the young man from entering the crash scene. As they led him back a hundred feet or so to the east, he screamed repeatedly, “You don’t understand! That’s my brother!”
The body was mostly covered by a white sheet, except that the upper part of the motorcyclist’s helmet was partially visible.
About a half-hour or so later, two more family members entered the scene from Papst Avenue, north of East Walker Street. The couple was older than the first person, perhaps the mother and father of the deceased and his brother.
Although they walked very close by the cloth-covered body, they did not seem to notice it. Officers very quickly led them away, eastbound on East Walker to where the first family member could still be heard.
Soon, the loud weeping of the older couple also became clearly audible.
Some minutes later, another brother walked onto the scene from Papst Avenue. Appearing distraught and confused, he looked in the direction of the body on the ground and asked a law enforcement officer, “Is that my brother?”
He was quickly guided away from the scene and directed toward the other family members.
Coming upon the scene perhaps 20 minutes after it occurred, the first thing this reporter heard was the sound of one of the drivers, a woman, crying inside an ambulance. Walking across Papst Avenue from the northwest corner of Papst and East Walker to the northeast corner, the reporter noticed a white 2013 Toyota Corolla stopped in the westbound lane of East Walker Street, facing west, about 30 feet or so east of the intersection.
Just 10 or 12 feet from the passenger side of the Toyota was the body of the motorcyclist. And near the southeast corner of the intersection, in the street facing northwest, was a red 2019 Subaru Crosstrek.
The motorcycle could not easily be seen. The bike, a 2015 Yamaha FZ07, ended up as a crumpled heap in the bushes that run alongside East Walker Street, between the sidewalk and the Round Table Pizza/O’Reilly Auto Parts parking lot, about 20 or 30 feet to the east of the Toyota.
The Subaru sustained significant damage to the rear half of its passenger side. However, the damage to the Toyota was major, with its roof and windshield destroyed by the collision with the motorcyclist and/or his Yamaha.
The crash was so violent that one of the motorcyclist’s shoes was knocked off and ended up in the east crosswalk of East Walker Street. The other shoe flew across the Round Table Pizza parking lot, stopping just feet from the south wall of the building.
According to a press release from the Orland Police Department, at about 7:43 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 12, an Orland police officer witnessed a motorcycle traveling east on Walker Street through the intersection of Sixth Street perform a “wheelie” and continue eastbound on Walker Street at a high rate of speed [over 100 miles per hour, Orland police told Glenn County Sheriff’s deputies].
The release states, “The officer attempted to catch up to the motorcycle with lights and siren, but the motorcycle failed to yield and continued east on Walker Street at a high rate of speed while passing other vehicles that were also eastbound on Walker Street. Due to the speeds involved and risk to the public, the officer stopped trying to catch up to the motorcycle and turned off the lights and siren.
“The motorcycle continued east on East Walker Street at a high rate of speed and failed to stop at the red light at the intersection of East Walker Street and Papst Avenue.
“The motorcycle, later identified as a 2015 Yamaha FZ07, collided with a red 2019 Subaru Crosstrek that had entered the intersection, then with a white 2013 Toyota Corolla stopped in the westbound lane of East Walker Street at Papst Avenue.
“The motorcyclist was ejected during the collision. Officers soon arrived and began life-saving measures on the motorcyclist.
“Westside Ambulance personnel and Orland Fire Department volunteers arrived quickly on scene and also began life saving measures. However, the motorcyclist was pronounced deceased.
“The 24-year-old female driver of the Subaru Crosstrek was evaluated and released on scene, having sustained only minor injuries. The 20-year-old female driver of the Toyota Corolla was transported with major injuries by ground ambulance to an area hospital [presumably Enloe Medical Center in Chico].”
The Orland Police Department press release does not name the drivers of the two involved cars, but the Glenn County Sheriff’s log item for this incident does: Rebekah Mae Erickson and Andrea Mondragon-Salcedo, both of Orland. However, neither press release indicates which woman was driving which vehicle.
The OPD press release continues, “The intersection of East Walker Street and Papst Avenue was closed and controlled while this collision was investigated with the assistance of the California Highway Patrol and Glenn County Sheriff’s Office. [Orland VIPS and firefighters blocked East Walker Street at Woodward Avenue, East Colusa Street, and County Road M 1/ 2, with some drivers on southbound Papst Avenue able to turn west onto East Walker Street.]
“The roadway was reopened at around 10 p.m.
“The Glenn County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a coroner’s investigation. The decedent has been identified as Gustabo “Gus” Angel Ramirez, 20, of Chico.
The press release concludes, “This collision is still under investigation and the Orland Police Department would like to thank the CHP, GCSO, Caltrans, Orland Volunteer Fire Department, Westside Ambulance, and the Orland VIPS for their assistance during this incident.”
The roads were mostly dry at the time of the accident. Rain did not begin to return until later in the evening.
The body of Gus Ramirez was removed from the scene at about 9:15 p.m. The funeral home’s van was carefully parked just east of the body so that it blocked the family’s view.
Sadly, the family realized what was happening and the volume of the weeping increased.
Moments after the van left, tow trucks from both Bambauer Towing and Zips Towing removed the automobiles.
The Glenn County Observer 