Grieving Father Recounts Worst Day In Life To Save Others

GILROY, CA -- When the vehicle carrying Chris Salcido's daughter hit a tree instantly killing her, the Gilroy resident could not prepare himself for the kind of pain he sees every day as a San Jose Fire captain.

"At that time, the blood rushes out of you," he said, choking back tears.

With vivid detail, Salcido recounted the tragedy that happened four years ago on the night before Mother's Day -- a week before Natalia's 16th birthday and shortly before she was to graduate from her driving permit to license.

She was driven by a friend who was traveling 73mph in a 35mph zone on Miller Road and turned around to inspect a Snapchat video shown by another friend in the backseat. At that second, the road turned. Natalia was in the front seat.

Now that moment in time seals the memory and legacy of the teenager who had everything going for her as a happy, healthy youngster who enjoyed her family, friends, cheerleading and her school. Her parents have taken the horrific experience to the schools to warn parents and young drivers of the dangers of distracted driving.

The California Highway Patrol program called "Impact Teen Drivers" has two sessions coming up in Morgan Hill on March 11 and another on March 22 in the Salcido's hometown of Gilroy.

One of the painful ironies Salcido recalled is that he was teaching Natalia how to drive earlier that day. The other is that Natalia wanted to do her part in the safety of teen driving. She wrote an essay to promote bringing the other groundbreaking CHP program "15 Minutes" -- which stages a funeral -- to her Christopher High School campus after one of her classmates lost her life in an alcohol-related crash.

In the case of Natalia's tragic death, the driver was sober but very young. The group of teenage friends were routinely driven by a parent, but no adult was available that night, and the driver was licensed. The teens were rushing back home to beat the 10 p.m. curfew.

Salcido recalled receiving a frantic call upon being out to dinner one of those rare times with his wife Andora, and the person kept asking her if she was Natalia's mother. Salcido took the phone and ended up with an officer on the scene who said his daughter was involved in a crash and: "You need to come down here."

Salcido was devastated. He knew the drill. Still, he didn't lose hope.

When the family of three arrived on the scene, the fire captain urged his wife and daughter to stay in the car. The car that crashed was a mangled mess. He frantically looked and asked for his daughter's whereabouts. Other girls were crying.

"It was like I absorbed everyone's worst day," he told Patch, while crying on the phone.

And to think, Salcido worried about her knee. Natalia had just gone in for surgery on her knee as a result of a cheerleading fall. In some respects, the thoughts at least kept her alive.

The mind is an amazing coping mechanism.

When the Salcido family arrived at the hospital, the worried father met up with a Gilroy firefighter who responded to the scene. In a crushing defeat, the family friend whose daughter grew up with Natalia told Salcido three words every paramedic knows is dire: "Pulseless electric activation."

"That took the wind out of my sails," he said.

He found her in an ER room -- with a sheet over her head. Salcido fell to the floor, clinging to the side of the bed.

He was concerned about his wife and daughter waiting in the car behind him.

"I've seen people who don't look like people in car accidents," he said.

When he pulled the sheet back, his cherished daughter amazingly looked peaceful.

He met his wife in the hospital hallway, and they both collapsed to the floor.

"These vehicles are 7,000 pounds," he said.

When he speaks of what could go down as the worst day of his life: "It's a tough thing to do, but if I can bare the worst day of my life, maybe I can prevent some other family's."

Salcido is convinced Natalia carried a greater mission that will endure and outlast her young life walking on Earth.

To this day, the tragedy has left an indelible memory with the family. Her younger sister Noel now drives but was "very cautious," her father said.

It took Salcido a while to muster the will to drive the road his daughter lost her life on. He's even tried to simulate driving at the same speed in that section.

"I can't even get up to that speed without feeling it's dangerous," he said.

The number one killer of young people in America is preventable car crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Statistics show that more than 75 percent of fatal collisions are caused by reckless and distracted driving. To help save lives, CHP coordinates Impact Teen Drivers to provide community awareness and education about the importance of responsible driving.

Santa Clara County's neighboring San Benito holds the distinction of having the third highest teen driver fatality rate in the state -- the notoriety CHP Hollister-Gilroy Cmdr. Scott Parker calls "alarming."

A group comprised of first responders, health professionals and educators has been formed to
provide reckless and distracted driving education to teens and parents. The efforts put forth by the NHTSA are being funded through a California Office of Traffic Safety grant. The program provides school presentations, parent-teen workshops and all educational materials at no cost. The events are staged in auditoriums, gymnasiums, libraries and multi-purpose rooms.

CHP Gilroy spokesman Chris Miceli points to speed as a common factor in such tragic crashes.

"What we're seeing is parents play a big part in the equation in getting the teens to follow the provisions and restrictions," he said. "Most adults don't know there are restrictions."

A few restrictions include a ban on teenagers with provisional licenses until the age of 18 driving between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Another is no provisional license allows a teen to drive a passenger under the age of 20 until the driver is age 18.

Anyone interested in participating in the South Bay region is asked to contact Miceli at 408-848-2324 (x211) or via cmiceli@chp.ca.gov.

Beyond San Menito at No. 3, California's top 10 counties for having the most distracted teen-related crashes are: Mendocino, Kings, Nevada, Madera, El Dorado, Tehama, Yuba, Tulare, Shasta and Monterey.