Patterson Cemetery District, Stanislaus County, CA Submitted by Gale Stroud and Burta Herger 26 Aug 2007 This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter. Barajas Eualia 040522 p4 Sycamore Crash Kills 2: Eualia Barajas; An auto collision just east of Patterson left two people dead and 10 people injured late Thursday afternoon, when a GMC van smashed into a Honda Civic at Fig and Sycamore avenues. Eualia Barajas, 46, of Los Angeles, died at the scene when the van in which she was a passenger rolled over and pinned her to the ground, according to California Highway Patrol reports. Fifteen year old Efrain Duran of Gustine, a passenger in the Honda who was not wearing a seatbelt, died later at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto, CHP officials said. The accident occurred after the Civic failed to stop at a stop sign, according to the report. "I don t know what happened; they just collided, 17 year old eyewitness Cruz Lopez said. "1 just saw the people inside the car and van had blood all over their faces. I just heard the big crash. At first, I thought it was my imagination. Thursday s crash occurred at about 4:45 p.m., when the 1999 silver Honda Civic, driven by 21 year old Gustine resident Omar Duran, headed westbound on Fig Avenue without halting at a posted stop sign, CHP authorities said. A 2001 white GMC van, driven by 47 year old Patterson resident Hector Arciniega, was headed northbound on Sycamore Avenue when it broadsided the other car; CHP reports stated. CHP officers say they do not know how fast either vehicle was traveling. They do not believe that drugs or alcohol played a role in the accident. Ambar Huerta said she was sitting in front of her friend Lopez house at the time of the accident "I heard the tires squeak and people screaming," the Patterson High School junior said. Sycamore Avenue resident Dean Emehiser, who lives near the intersection; was in his house at the time of the wreck. "I heard a loud boom.," he said. Division Chief Steve Hall of the Patterson Fire Department said he was dispatched around 4:47 p.m. "Then it was redispatched as a rescue with multiple victims," he said. Ten people received treatment for minor to moderate injuries after the incident. Omar Duran was treated for moderate injuries at Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock, and his passenger, Jose Alvarez, 16, of Newman, received treatment for minor injuries at Memorial Medical Center in Modesto. Van driver Hector Arciniega was treated for minor injuries at Memorial Medical Center, and Maria Arciniega, 39,received treatment for moderate injuries at Doctors Medical Center, and Maria Arciniega 39, received treatment for moderate injuries at Emanuel. Thirty one year old van passenger Evarista Barajas of Lynwood, the only van passenger reported not wearing a seatbelt, was treated for moderated injuries at Doctors Medical Center. Other van passengers treated for minor injuries include Carmina Gonzalez, 46, of Patterson and the following Los Angeles residents: Tania Rodarte, 19; Cecilio Rodarte, 19; Efrain Rodarte, 47 and Laura Barajas, 32. Both the car and the van landed in a field northwest of the intersection near Lopez Sycamore Avenue home. The GMC lay toppled on its side, and Patterson firefighters had to use logs and yellow wooden blocks to hoist it and release passengers. Meanwhile, the silver Civic stood smashed about a dozen yards to the west, with the driver s side of the car folded and crumpled like a piece of aluminum foil. California Highway Patrol Officer John Martinez said Sycamore Avenue is a busy thoroughfare, where several fatalities have occurred in recent years. "People run the stop sign," he said, "It has been a very common occurrence out there on Sycamore. It is a county road, and sometimes people tend to relax out on the country roads and not pay attention to the posted signs. "Patterson residents know about this; it isn t the first story they are going to hear about on Sycamore."