Police say he was not wearing seatbelt, excessive speeds
involved in possible car race
Morgan Hill – Waiting for paramedics to arrive Sunday morning, Larry Santos carefully held Nicholas Schindler, 20, in his arms, hoping the young man would survive his obviously major head injury.
There was “a huge hole in the back of his head,” Santos said, which was bleeding profusely, and he used Schindler’s shirt to try to staunch the flow. The injured young man tried to flip from his stomach to his back, Santos, added, but he held him still, worried he would injure himself or choke if he was on his back. Twice Santos cleared blood from his airway, he said.
“I tried to calm him, in case he could hear me, telling him he was going to be okay, that help was on its way, that I was a friend.”
Santos had watched the accident, saw the apparent race on northbound Butterfield Boulevard between Schindler and the unknown driver of an SUV that Santos believes caused the accident when it cut Schindler off. The Ford Mustang Schindler was driving and the SUV were traveling at approximately 90 to 100 mph, Santos said.
“I heard their tires squealing as they came around that long arc on Butterfield,” he said. “My concern was that the SUV was going to roll, given their history.”
As he watched the accident happen, Santos said he saw Schindler fly out of the Mustang.
“I couldn’t believe that was a human body,” he said.
Schindler landed in the southbound lanes of Butterfield, and Santos said he quickly moved his SUV to block traffic headed in that direction then went to see if he could help the young man.
Schindler, of Morgan Hill, is in critical condition on life support at Valley Medical Center after the rollover accident Sunday morning on Butterfield Boulevard.
Schindler received skull fractures when he was ejected from the Mustang and has had surgery to relieve swelling in his brain.
According to Morgan Hill police Cmdr. Joe Sampson, officers responded to calls of an accident at Butterfield Boulevard just north of San Pedro Avenue at 11:14am.
At the scene, officers found Schindler’s Mustang overturned in the median. Schindler was found 20 feet from the car; he was apparently not wearing a seat belt and was ejected through the front window on impact.
Officers are looking for a brown or tan SUV possibly involved in racing with Schindler before the crash. Sampson said witness reports and evidence at the scene suggest the two vehicles were traveling in excess of 70 mph. When the Mustang collided with the raised curb of the median, Sampson said, it flew up, colliding with and uprooting five elm trees and damaging the median’s irrigation system. The car came to rest on its side, against another tree.
No charges have been filed in the accident, Sampson said Monday. Anyone with information about the accident is asked to contact MHPD traffic officer Steve Pennington at 779-2101.
Later Sunday afternoon, there was another accident with major injuries, this time on northbound Highway 101 north of Tennant Avenue. According to California Highway Patrol Officer Chris Armstrong, Jose Chavez, 50, of San Jose, was taken by CalStar to Regional Medical Center with broken ribs and a closed head injury. His wife, Cathy Chavez, 43, of San Jose was also flown by CalStar to Regional Medical Center. She had a cut on her left hand.
The accident occurred at approximately 3:20pm when the Harley-Davidson motorcycle Jose was driving slammed into the rear of an Acura driven by Lee Bowman, 42, of Millbrae. Cathy was a passenger on the motorcycle.
Armstrong said the Chavez motorcycle was directly behind Bowman’s Acura in heavy traffic; when traffic in front of the Acura slowed abruptly, Bowman braked hard. Jose was driving at an unsafe speed for conditions, Armstrong said. They were both thrown off the motorcycle.
The number one lane of northbound 101 was closed for approximately 40 minutes.
According to the CHP report, neither alcohol nor drugs were a factor in the accident.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@*************es.com.
