By Larry Judkins
Glenn County Observer
The person who was killed early Friday morning on Interstate 5, north of County Road 57, has been identified.
He was Jose Carlos Argueta Ayala, of El Salvador.
According to his niece, Anastacia Nava of Lancaster, Calif., Ayala and his granddaughter had flown into Seattle, Wash., with the intention that they and several relatives from Hoquiam, Wash., would drive to the Los Angeles area in order to surprise Nava’s mother (Ayala’s sister).
Nava says that “while on the freeway the tire exploded and the car lost control.” The vehicle he was riding in rolled over several times and Ayala died at the scene.
As reported previously in The Observer, according to the Willows Area Office of the California Highway Patrol, at about 3:40 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 13, Eric Samayoa (the Glenn County Sheriff’s Office gives his name as Erick Castro Samayoa), 31, was driving a 2000 Chevy south in the fast lane of I-5, at a stated speed of 65 or 70 miles per hour.
For unknown reasons, he allowed the vehicle to drift to the left, where it entered the dirt and gravel median.
Samayoa applied the Chevy’s brakes and turned it sharply to the right.
The vehicle rotated clockwise in a southwesterly direction and traveled across both lanes of southbound I-5, where it began overturning.
The Chevy continued overturning in a southwesterly direction, across a dirt and dry grass area and through a perimeter fence west of southbound I-5.
It came to rest on its roof, facing a northeasterly direction.
Neither drugs nor alcohol were considered a factor in this accident.
According to CHP Officer Gilliam, a male passenger, name and age withheld, died as a result of the accident. The Glenn County Sheriff’s Office, which conducted the death investigation, identified him as Jose Carlos Argueta Ayala, but stated that his place of residence was “unknown.”
Eric Castro, 6, was transported with major injuries to U.C. Davis Medical Center in Sacramento; Kimberley Castro, 10, was transported with major injuries to Enloe Medical Center in Chico; and Carolina Serrano (the sheriff’s log gives her name as Carolina Serrano Vigil), 29, was transported with major injuries to Rideout Memorial Hospital in Marysville.
Ashley Castro, 5, and Axel Castro, 1, both sustained minor injuries. They were both transported to Rideout hospital. (The sheriff’s office improperly withheld the names of all the juveniles listed in the log.)
All of the occupants of the Chevy, except the man who was killed, were from Hoquiam, Wash. All but the person who was killed were wearing their seatbelts or other safety equipment at the time of the rollover.
According to the Glenn County Sheriff’s log, when deputies, CHP officers, and medical personnel arrived at the scene, several people were found standing outside the crashed vehicle and were provided medical aid.
Law enforcement officers found one person, Ayala, who did not survive the rollover and was pronounced deceased at the scene. His family members at the scene of the accident were told of his death.
Anastacia Nava says that the other occupants of the vehicle are hospitalized in stable condition.
Nava has set up a GoFundMe account for her uncle, writing, “We are sending him back to El Salvador and will also be holding the service … there as well.”
She continues, “That takes a lot of money, money we don’t have on hand.”
She concludes, “That takes a lot of money, money we don’t have on hand. Anything helps really. Thank you for your time.”
As of early Tuesday evening, Oct. 17, $600 of Nava’s $25,000 goal has been reached.
Readers can contribute at http://www.gofundme.com/f/carlos-argueta-ayala.
The Glenn County Observer 