Tragedies remind us of what really matters

The horrible traffic accidents of July have continued into August, and they keep hitting closer and closer to home.

In the 31 days from July 11 to Aug. 11, a total of 13 people died in accidents either in Patterson, near Patterson or involving people from Patterson.

The first was 17-year-old Yesenia Zarate, a Patterson High graduate and Modesto Junior College student who died after she lost control of her sport utility vehicle on Carpenter Road the morning of July 11. Zarate left behind a 2-year-old daughter.

On July 15, seven people - six farm laborers from Lodi and a septic truck driver from Merced - died when two vehicles collided and plunged into the Delta-Mendota Canal at Needham Road. Family and friends waited for hours, and in some cases days, for their loved ones to be recovered from the canal.

Two days later, an 89-year-old Patterson woman named Helen Wright died in a two-car crash at Sperry and Del Puerto avenues. Wright had lived in Patterson for 69 years and was active in local clubs and organizations.

Perhaps the most heartbreaking of these sad stories came July 4, when 27-year-old Monica Martinez of Westley was driving with her 3-year-old son, Eloy Bahena, and their car was struck by an out-of-control SUV on Highway 33 near Rogers Road.

Martinez, who was two months pregnant at the time, died with her son. And her boyfriend, Baudelio Raygoza, witnessed the entire scene while driving in the car behind. The driver of the SUV, 26-year-old Mario Saldivar of Patterson, was also killed.

Then on Sunday, Patterson Planning Commission chairman and longtime firefighter Jim McCluskey died when his bicycle was struck by a motorcycle on Diablo Grande Parkway.

These stories are not easy to read about. They're not easy to write. And they're certainly not easy to report on.

Adrenaline can often cloud emotion when rushing out to the scene of an accident to snap photographs or gather information. But inevitably, the emotion takes over during heart-wrenching encounters with grieving friends and family members.

The stories become part of us, as they do with you. Many of us have young children like Eloy Bahena, grandmothers like Helen Wright and friends like Yesenia Zarate. Many of us had direct contact with Jim McCluskey, and some of us had strong friendships with him.

There's no shortage of clichés people use to comfort themselves and others in times like these. We'll spare you the trite one-liners if you promise to take these to heart:

Hug your children. Call your parents. Tell a coworker you appreciate them. Tell your significant other that you love them. And make sure they're paying attention.

Make a concerted effort to put as much love as possible into every one of your days. The unpredictability of tragedy demands it.