Arbuckle teen killed, driver arrested after crash

One Arbuckle teenager is dead and another arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after a single-vehicle rollover early Sunday morning.

Jose L. Vera Mendoza, 19, was pronounced dead at 2:40 a.m. on Breuner Avenue just west of Wildwood Road. Mendoza was riding with 19-year-old Leonardo Valasques when Valasques lost control of his 1989 Chevy van and hit an embankment.

Valasques was driving about 50 to 60 mph on Breuner when he made an unsafe turning movement, according to the report of California Highway Patrol Officer Jeff Heggstrom. The van's right-side tires hit the embankment, causing the vehicle to roll over several times.

Mendoza was not wearing a seat belt and was fully ejected from the vehicle, Heggstrom said. He landed on the dirt shoulder on the north side of the road where he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Valasques, who was wearing a seat belt, suffered a fractured left wrist. He was transported by the CHP to Colusa Regional Medical Center, where he was treated for his injury and given a blood analysis test, according to John Waggoner, CHP public affairs officer. He was booked the same morning into the Colusa County Jail on suspicion of driving under the influence, but a full toxicology report will not be available for about four weeks, the CHP said.

Mendoza was a 2008 graduate of Pierce High School and FFA state farmer, the organization's highest honor. A memorial fund has been set up at Umpqua Bank in Arbuckle.

Mendoza's death is the fourth on Colusa County roadways since Memorial Day, and the third victim who was not wearing a seat belt.

A Glenn County woman was killed Monday in a two-vehicle wreak on Highway 99W, near Willows. Nancy Floyd, 38, was pronounced dead at 8:08 a.m. after being ejected from her vehicle. She was not wearing a seat belt.

On May 31, Debbie Ferchaud of Goldendale, Wash., was fatally injured on Highway 20, and Eldena E. Azevedo, 57, of Williams was killed May 23 in a head-on collision on Highway 99W, north of Williams. Neither women was wearing a seat belt, according to the CHP.

"Seat belt usage is very important," Waggoner said. "It is your responsibility as a driver of a motor vehicle to wear a seat belt and see that everyone inside your vehicle is wearing a seat belt."

While California traditionally has the highest seat belt compliance rate in the nation, Waggoner suspects motorists may have become lax about buckling up for safety.

"The CHP is actively enforcing seat belt violations and, in fact, is looking for violators," Waggoner said. "People need to buckle up. Seat belts really do save lives."

Contact Susan Meeker at 458-2121 or smeeker@tcnpress.com.