FORT BRAGG, 4/5/24 — About four years ago, Mario Bracamontes and Azucena Perez found the dream town where they could raise their family.
Perez, a radiological technician, was hired at Adventist Health Mendocino Coast Hospital, when the pandemic had made all medical work more hectic and stressful, but not for the always cool Perez. Bracamontes went to work at Mendo Mill, where he is known by many as the friendly delivery driver.
They bought a house in the middle of the city of Fort Bragg. Perez worked long hours and the family had two children.
First her son, Echo was born, then in February, she had their second child, daughter Viera Rose.
She proudly took her long graceful strides up and down the hospital halls with a baby bump out front and bore the questions about due dates with smiles and stories.
Perez, 32, was a favorite of patients and staff alike, always energetic, outgoing and at the same time gentle with people getting X-rays or other digital imaging work done. To keep patients from struggling with her name, she became “Lily”
Perez was a force for positive energy. If one complained about the rain, she would say she loved it and how nice it was to live here, away from all the traffic and bustle of the crowded parts of California they had left.
The family’s dreams were crushed at 2 a.m on March 31 when they were driving on Interstate 580. Their 2023 Kia was hit head-on going west on Interstate 580 near Corral Hollow Road. The other driver, Harold Liberty, 18, of Antioch was also killed. Liberty drove onto the freeway the wrong way, entering by an exit ramp, pulling directly into the path of the oncoming family. Both cars flipped over from the head-on crash. LIberty was killed when he was thrown from his car. Perez died at the hospital. Viera Rose was rescued at the scene but died a day later at just under two months of age. Bracamontes suffered what the police report described as major injuries, while Echo had very minor injuries.
Chp-288A-03-31There are donation cans available at Mendo Mill as well as at other locations around town.
Perez’ best friend Amelia Smith also has begun a Go Fund Me fundraiser to benefit the surviving half of the family.
“Our hearts and prayers are with the Perez family. Azucena was a bright light in our Imaging Department,” said hospital president Judy Leach. “She always put the needs of patients ahead of everything else to ensure patient safety and high quality were coupled with compassionate communication. She was a force for good in every conversation and was a beautiful convenor and team builder among the staff. She and her beautiful family created a strong connection to our coastal community.”
“The family has formed a ‘Go Fund Me’ and we encourage anyone who loved Azucena to donate,” Leach said. The link is here: Azucena & Viera – Fundraiser by Amelia Smith
“Support services were immediately deployed for staff including chaplain support, grief counselors and space to honor and reflect a treasured member of our work family. The hospital will also be honoring Azucena’s life and the memory of her sweet family in the near future with a brief service in our garden courtyard at a time that works best for the Perez family,” said Leach.
California HIghway Patrol Sgt. John Dyer, from the Tracy office, said an investigation is underway to determine if drugs or alcohol were involved and to find out why Liberty ended up on the wrong side of the freeway. He said there were no obvious signs that Liberty had been intoxicated, such as beer cans. He said the laboratory testing could take as much as a month for the laboratory results and autopsy to come back from the San Joaquin County coroner’s office.
The death has devastated her hospital family, especially in her digital imaging department. The hospital was hit by the death of another staff member, Nadia Amani from the pharmacy, in another crash, on Dec. 22 on Interstate 5 in the Sacramento area. Also fondly remembered, hospital staff had a memorial for Amani. The hospital’s chaplain staff also is available and involved when tragedy strikes staff.
Said coworker Milan Spadoni, “Azucena moved here for this job, brought Mario with her and bought a home within a few months. This was going to be their forever home. She loved this cold gloomy weather. She was a beautiful person inside and out. She loved music, going to concerts, baking, delicious food and traveling. She loved and adored her family more than anything. She was a wife, mother, sister of seven brothers, daughter, daughter-in-law, aunt, and a wonderful friend.
“She wasn’t just a coworker, she was our friend and a part of our family. She touched many lives in this small town with her care and kindness. She had a smile and laugh that could light up any room no matter the situation,” Spandoni said.
Hospital staff are in shock this week, and hope the community will support a family that came here to serve. Perez was always moving fast, with tremendous energy at the hospital. The tall woman with long black hair created smiles and lowered stress in busy emergency situations. Her even taller husband Mario is also known for his outgoing and helpful personality. “They were birds of a feather,” said Spadoni.
Many coworkers remembered Perez as one of those rare outsized personalities one meets only once in a lifetime. “Azucena, you sweet kind beautiful soul. The past several years of working with you will be cherished forever!” said coworker Breanna Small.
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact I won’t be blessed with that beautiful contagious smile in the mornings to come. All the sweet memories we got to share will be held dearly within. May you rest peacefully with your baby girl Viera,” Small said. Dad and son are staying with family in Southern California. Its unknown if and when they return to their home in Fort Bragg, but co-workers from both Mendo Mill and the hospital are in touch.
Wrong-way freeway drivers don’t cause many accidents but most are terrible because of the speed involved. The death rate is 27 times higher for wrong-way freeway crashes than any other type of accident. Wrong-way collisions account for only about three percent of accidents on high-speed divided highways, but they are much more likely to result in fatalities than other types of highway crashes. Most wrong-way events on controlled-access highways are head-on collisions caused by drivers who are severely intoxicated.
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reported that more than 2,000 people were killed in wrong-way accidents on divided highways from 2015 to 2018. This averages out to 500 fatalities every year.
Wrong-Way Driver Education and Prevention | Caltrans
After several highly publicized wrong-way freeway crashes caused deaths on California highways in that time period, especially in San Diego and Sacramento, Caltrans tried several pilot projects, including new flashers at exits to alert those entering. A triggered flasher automatically contacts the California Highway Patrol and Caltrans. One of the most effective prevention measures included in the three-year pilot program — reflectors that alert drivers they are entering the roadway in the wrong direction — was so successful at deterring wrong-way drivers that Caltrans has already installed the reflective markers on hundreds of miles of highways. There was no information on whether those have been installed on 580. Two-way reflectors show up as red when headlights of wrong-way drivers hit them. Caltrans and the CHP advise drivers who see a wrong-way driver to move over as soon as safe and call authorities as soon as possible.
A California Public Records Act Request has been made for Liberty’s autopsy. Janny Som with San Joaquin County acknowledged the receipt of the request. A follow up report will be made.
Wrong Way Pilot Projects | Caltrans
