September 22, 2005

Serendipitous saviors

Almaden elk hunters stumble on car crash which leads to
yearly aid mission to New Mexico’s Navajo Indians

By David Lee and Chuck Hart
Special to the Times

Six years ago Almaden residents Roger Reimers and David Lee rendered assistance to a family at the accident scene of a pickup truck crash near Dulce, New Mexico. This tragic incident has changed the lives of the men, and of their fellow group members of the Cupertino Host Lions Club as well as the community of Native American Navajos in Gallup, New Mexico.

The Navajo Indian aid project has grown to the point that it was necessary to secure the help of a professional truck driver who has a tractor and forty eight foot enclosed trailer to transport the packaged goods to Gallup, New Mexico.

At 5 a.m. on a dark and cold (15 degrees) November morning, Reimers and Lee, two elk hunters and their hunting guide were traveling on their way to an area where elk had been observed the preceding evening.

When the truck came around a tight curve in the road, it narrowly missed hitting a young woman standing at edge of the road. The hunting guide tried to dissuade the hunters from stopping but the hunters told the guide that the concern for the safety of this young woman was far more important to them than their hunt. Both hunters sensed that something was very wrong and feared that the woman could be hit by another vehicle if they did not get her off the road to safety. They told the guide to turn the truck around and return to the young woman.

As the truck approached the young woman, the hunters could see that she was now holding an infant with one arm, and a young toddler was clinging to one of her legs. To their horror the men could see that the woman’s free arm had a protruding compound fracture, and blood covered part of her face.

All three men jumped out of the truck and rushed to assist the woman. The young mother was in a state of shock and needed immediate medical attention. The children did not appear to be injured, but hypothermia was of a major concern given the extreme cold temperature that morning.

The immediate surrounding area indicated that a vehicle had gone off the road, rolled a few times, tore through a barbed wire fence, and came to a halt in a densely covered bushy ravine. The personal contents of the truck were spread all over the area. The headlights of the vehicle were still operating and could be seen though the dense brush.

The men put the woman and her children in the cab of their truck while the guide tried to get his CB radio to work.

During the year the Cupertino Host Lions Club and concerned individuals work at collecting all sorts of family type materials, sorting by sex and size where possible and packaged in boxes of the same size for uniform packing to maximize space. The hundreds of boxes used for packaging the items are donated annually by Amazing Packaging Supplies of San Jose.

Apparently, the radio had been damaged recently and would not work. The hunting guide would have to drive the five miles back into town to get emergency help. The hunters told the guide that they needed all the blankets and heavy coats in the back of the truck before he left to keep the young woman and the children warm at the accident site, since they did not want to move the woman not knowing all her injuries.

Shortly after the guide left the young woman started mumbling that her husband was hurt down by their truck. One of the hunters went looking for the husband. Unfortunately, when the hunter located the husband, he saw that the man was dead. The hunter returned to the truck, told the other hunter he found the husband, but said nothing to the young woman because he feared she could go into further shock given her current condition and not knowing the full extent of her injuries.

One of the hunters flagged down a truck, in which both the driver and passenger were serendipitously two off duty New Mexico Highway Patrol Officers who were also hunters and friends of their hunting guide. Their truck was equipped with a CB radio that did work. They reached the local emergency center in town in a matter of minutes and had a few units dispatched to the accident scene. A short time later their guide returned with the paramedic vehicles a short distance behind him. The hunters waited to leave the scene until the paramedics had examined the young woman and children.

One of the paramedics that examined the woman and children, came over to hunters and told them that the children appeared to be uninjured, but the mother had numerous broken bones, possible internal injuries, and still showed signs of being in shock. The paramedics had already made arrangements to have a helicopter fly the woman, her children, and her deceased husband to the nearest hospital facility in Farmington, 90 miles away, for further examination of the children and treatment of the young woman’s numerous injuries.

As the paramedic started to walk away from the hunters, he stopped, turned towards them, and stated that if they had not stopped to help these people, they could have died in the next thirty minutes from shock, injuries, or exposure to the extreme cold, especially the children.

The scope of materials given include most of those things that we all have daily needs for such as clothing, household goods, toys, books, games, utensils, shoes, sporting equipment, computers, printers, and small appliances.

Reimers and Lee helped as much as they could, left as much information as needed, and resumed their quest for elk, which was successful. But more importantly was how their guide was affected by the experience of the early morning rescue.

Erwin was a Native American Apache, who lived on the Apache reservation in Dulce.

He told the hunters that ever since that morning he had been experiencing a feeling of
satisfaction from helping someone in need. He thanked them for insisting on going back to assist the woman, a fellow Native American. The hunters told Erwin that the reward of a good deed is the self-satisfaction of knowing that ones actions made a difference in the life of a fellow human being. This conversation was the genesis of idea, which would help many families in the year’s to come.

Upon returning home to the Almaden Valley, Lee decided to find out what happened to the family. It took about three weeks to make contact with the family after numerous phone calls and letters. Lee finally reached the mother of the children and she told him her story of how the family was traveling on its way back from Colorado Springs, Colorado to the Navajo Redrock Reservation in Gallup, New Mexico when the accident occurred.

The children were fine and had suffered no injuries, which is a miracle considering the severity of the accident, and the mother herself had numerous broken bones and a bad concussion, but was on the mend. The doctors at the hospital advised her not to start a new job in Gallup for at least two months. This lady was beside herself with worry because she had no way to support her family. To make matters worse, Lee learned that while the family was in the hospital, all of their possessions were stolen from the truck while in storage at a local wrecking yard in Dulce.

The woman thanked the man profusely for all that they had done for her family. Lee asked if there was anything else he could do to assist the family. She indicated that they needed some assistance with basic items like blankets, sheets, clothing, cooking utensils, etc. Lee then called Reimers, his hunting buddy, and they organized enough monetary donations from the Cupertino Host Lions Club and Coach Parks Charities to cover all the basic items plus some gifts for the children since Christmas was just a few weeks away. Everything was Fed Ex’ed to the family.

After receiving the packages, the mother and her in-laws contacted the hunters to thank them and the support organizations. According to the hunters, tears were shed by all involved.

In subsequent discussions with the family and in-laws, it was learned that many of the Native American Navajos that lived on the reservation survived at poverty level. The hunters promised to do the very best that they could to help as many families as possible on the reservation, with the help of their Lions Club and anyone else who wanted to be a part of this project to assist someone in need.

Each year since the accident, Lee and Reimers have made their dual-purpose annual trip to New Mexico. First of all for hunting elk and secondly to aid the Navajo Indians who had become their friends.

During the year the Cupertino Host Lions Club and concerned individuals work at collecting all sorts of family type materials, sorting by sex and size where possible and packaged in boxes of the same size for uniform packing to maximize space. The hundreds of boxes used for packaging the items are donated annually by Amazing Packaging Supplies of San Jose.

The scope of materials include most of those things that we all have daily needs for such as clothing, household goods, toys, books, games, utensils, shoes, sporting equipment, computers, printers, and small appliances. The hunters deliver the assorted collection of clothes, household goods, etc. to a church group located on the reservation that makes the necessary arrangements to distribute the collection to needy families on the reservation.

The parents of the deceased husband are very active in this church group and have taken it upon themselves to keep this distribution program moving forward each year in memory of their deceased son.

This project has grown to the point that it was necessary to secure the help of a professional truck driver who has a tractor and forty eight foot enclosed trailer to transport the packaged goods to Gallup, New Mexico. The local church located a warehouse to be the off loading station for the packaged goods. The local Gallup Lions Club members and other local volunteers have helped the Cupertino Host Lions members unload the forty-eight foot enclosed trailer the past few years.

After many years of repeating this effort in November, it was found that the need continues and the enthusiasm for continuing this program grows. Letters of appreciation from the Navajos generate much energy in our local community.

The Cupertino Host Lions Club seeks local help in picking up donations, sorting, and packing the collected materials in early November. Last year another service organization in Cupertino, The Optimist Club, assisted the Lions Club members in sorting and packaging the materials collected for delivery in November 2004.

It never fails to amaze the Lions Club members that there are so many areas of opportunity to be of help to people in need if we open our eyes, our ears, and our hearts. All those involved with this project have found everlasting friends in the Navajos of Gallup, New Mexico.

If you would like to help out with donations of money or items or to volunteer your time for the next collection contact Roger Reimers (408) 997-2639 or Bob Ferber (408) 268-6739. The Cupertino Host Lions Charities is a recognized IRS Sec 403(b) charitable organization. We provide receipts suitable for tax deductions. It is requested that any materials that can be donated to this cause, be placed in large heavy-duty plastic bags.