MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KMJ/KFSN) — Courage and strength: that’s what CHP officers Bernavet Mendez Padilla and Christian Ramirez used as they worked to save a man trapped in a car after a head-on crash in Merced County last month.
“We have a pin in, be advised, it’s a red sedan that overturned in the canal. Law enforcement is on scene trying to access the patient,” emergency personnel said over scanner traffic.
“The only thing on my mind was we have to save this guy; we have to help him, he’s obviously in dire need,” CHP Ofc. Bernavet Mendez Padilla said.
The crash happened at around 3:30 a.m. on May 11th on State Route 165 just north of Santa Fe Grade.
CHP says two people in a red Toyota Corolla crossed into oncoming traffic and crashed head-on into a black Toyota Corolla.
At first, the officers only saw the black Corolla.
“While evaluating the driver for injuries, I overheard another male saying ‘Ayuda, ayuda’, help in Spanish,” Officer Mendez Padilla recalled.
The red corolla overturned into a canal.
The driver– 22-year-old Jaime Robert Gomez Villanueva– suspected of DUI, died at the scene, but the passenger was still alive.
“When I located him, the only thing I was able to see with my flashlight was his face sticking out of the water,” Ofc. Mendez Padilla explained.
Officer Mendez Padilla used his Marine Corps and CHP training to take action and jumped into the water.
“I faced toward the car, got on my back in the water, and I was able to pull him like a squat,” he said as he demonstrated.
He says the man walked away with minor injuries.
“After I cut the seatbelt and pulled him out, he said, ‘Thank you. You saved my life. I’ll never forget this day,’” he stated.
He says that the seatbelt saved the man’s life.
The driver of the other vehicle is also expected to be okay.
