(audio tape) CHP motor officer hit - citizens save his life

[ejay]

http://images.radcity.net/5368/2316211.wav

Above is an attachment containing the audio of the first few terrifying moments of Steffanie Zeravica's exchange with the CHP dispatcher in Ventura as she tells her what has happened and what is going on. You may first want to read the synopsis below that puts the audio into context and then click on the attachment above, download it, and listen to the dramatic audio furnished by the Highway Patrol.

On Wednesday, December 19th shortly before 4:30 pm CHP motorcycle officer Anthony Pedeferri had stopped his motorcycle on the right shoulder of Northbound Highway 101 just south of Seacliff in Ventura County for a routine stop involving an SUV driven by 21-year-old Andres Parra of Phoenix Arizona. At that moment, a pickup truck slammed into Parra's vehicle and the two vehicles burst into flames. Officer Pedeferri, who was standing nearby, was tossed 20 feet through the air down the side of the shoulder by the force of the two vehicles colliding. As he lay on the ground, knocked out and not breathing, four citizens came to his aid, and to the aid of the SUV driven Parra, who was mortally injured in the center divider. One of the good Samaritans was Steffanie Zeravica of Ventura who was driving home from work and saw what happened. Zeravica, who used to be a police dispatcher, got on Officer Pedeferri's motorcycle radio and called for help. The 36-year-old Officer Pedeferri, an 11-year veteran CHP Officer, and long time triathelete, was revived, airlifted to VCMC, and although critically injured, is now listed in stable condition. Sadly, Andres Parra, was pronounced dead at the scene despite the best efforts of those citizens to save him with CPR. The driver of the pickup truck, 20-year-old Jeremy White of Paso Robles, was arrested for felony DUI.

KVTA

One thousand hats off to the citizens on scene. The former dispatcher that called for help via the officer's radio handled it with expert precision. You have got to hear the tape.

I hope that the driver gets what's coming to him.

[PO2U]

That lady needs to be a dispatcher again. Good Job!!!

Uhhhhh, I think the driver just might be in trouble.....

[andy5746]

Gave me chills! Calls like that are about as scary as it gets! Hats off to the folks that helped the officer & tried to help the driver of the other car. Hope the P.O.S. duce driver gets filed on for 2nd Degree Murder or better!

[FEDCOPPER74]

Outstanding,, doing dispatch myslelf from time to time, all around great job, ped, seemed to do better than the actual dispatcher...lol

[willowdared]

I can't hear it without wanting to cry.

My prayers for the officer's recovery.

[scarredpelt]

Originally Posted by willowdared

I can't hear it without wanting to cry.

My prayers for the officer's recovery.

Wanting to, heck I did. The mixture of horror and pride is just eerie.

[willowdared]

CHP officer remains in critical condition

Struck by a suspected drunken driver, survivor of deadly crash is on a ventilator

By Scott Hadly (Contact)
Friday, December 21, 2007

For years California Highway Patrol officer and triathlete Anthony Pedeferri has endured the most physically grueling tests of strength and come out on top, but a day after being slammed by a suspected DUI driver during a routine traffic stop on Highway 101 the veteran motorcycle officer was in the fight of his life.

The fiery crash late Wednesday afternoon critically injured the 36-year-old officer and killed 20-year-old Andreas Parra of Phoenix.

Pedeferri, an 11-year veteran of the CHP, was still in critical condition and on a ventilator Thursday after undergoing surgery at Ventura County Medical Center.

The father of two young girls, and a competitor this year in eight triathlons, including the grueling Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Hawaii, isn't able to move his feet.

"I was told he has no feeling in his legs, which for a guy like Tony is very tough," said Dave Gonzales, a Santa Barbara police sergeant and fellow triathlete. "If anybody can overcome this, it's Tony. He has an amazing positive attitude, and he's in stellar condition."

The man believed responsible for the accident, Jeremy White, a 20-year-old from Paso Robles, is scheduled to be in court today facing charges of vehicular manslaughter, felony driving under the influence, possession of marijuana with intent to sell and transportation of marijuana. As of late Thursday, he was still being held at the Ventura County Jail. His bail is set at $500,000.

According to court records in San Luis Obispo County, White last year pleaded no contest to harassment by phone and in February also pleaded no contest to assault with a deadly weapon. Both convictions were misdemeanors.

The accident occurred about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday after Pedeferri pulled Parra's small sport utility vehicle over onto the right shoulder of northbound Highway 101 near Faria Beach.

Pedeferri had gotten off his motorcycle and was talking to Parra through the passenger window when, for unexplained reasons, the large pickup truck driven by White careened from the center lane onto the shoulder and into the back of the SUV.

The impact knocked Pedeferri out of his boots and launched him 20 yards into the brush on the side of the highway. It also sent the two vehicles spinning into the center lanes. The crash knocked off the SUV's back tires and triggered a fire.

"It immediately caught fire," said Stephanie Zeravica, who was driving southbound when she saw the impact. "It was like in slow motion, absolutely horrific."

Almost 20 years ago, Zeravica, who works the desk at the Cliff House Inn in Mussel Shoals, had worked at Ontario Police Department as a dispatcher, and the training helped her in the moments that followed. Zeravica pulled over onto the center divider along with others, including a pair of Vandenberg Air Force Base military police officers.

"We saw someone was still in the vehicle," Zeravica said, referring to Parra. "A woman was screaming hysterically to pull him out of the car, and three men pulled the victim out."

One man started chest compressions for CPR and Zeravica started to give mouth to mouth.

"He looked very pasty. I gave him two breaths, and then the Air Force guys tapped me and said, ma'am we have a mask,' and they started," she said.

Their work was eventually taken over by paramedics, but they never got a pulse.

Zeravica turned and noticed Pedeferri's motorcycle. Nearby, Robert Woodson, a medical researcher, had pulled over and was on his cell phone after calling 911.

"I was on the phone and then saw the motorcycle," Woodson said. For a moment he thought the CHP was already on the scene and then realized differently.

"Someone was looking in the bushes, and then I saw his (Pedeferri's) boot," he said.

Another bystander was trying to use the radio on the motorcycle to call for help when Zeravica came over.

"I pushed her away and grabbed the radio and just said Code 999,'" she said. "I knew if you did that everybody comes."

The CHP uses the code 1199 for "officer down," but Zeravica's call triggered a massive response, said CHP Officer Shawna Davison.

On Thursday, Zeravica visited the still-reeling CHP headquarters in Ventura, where she met one of the dispatchers who had taken her call. The woman embraced Zeravica and said that her pinpoint directions and calm helped save Pedeferri's life.

As Zeravica was on the radio, one of the Air Force police officers found Pedeferri in the ditch. At first he didn't detect a pulse, but then hollered:

"He's breathing, and he's got a pulse, but we need medevac now."

Zeravica conveyed the message over the radio.

"It seemed like within three minutes I heard the helicopters," she said.

Pedeferri was still wearing his helmet when he was hit, which probably helped save him. Officer Davison was among the first CHP officers on the scene and said that by that time another bystander, David Monahan, had helped stabilize the injured officer's neck.

In the chaotic scene, White, a student at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, got out of his pickup truck. Woodson said White, who was slightly injured in the accident, was crying and saying that it was his fault and that he didn't know what had happened to make the pickup suddenly swerve. White speculated that his tire had blown, Woodson said.

'Oh my God. Oh my God.'

But so far at least, there does not appear to be evidence of any mechanical problems with the pickup, Davison said.

This isn't a particularly dangerous section of the highway, she said. The road is fairly straight. There are three lanes, and the traffic was relatively light.

At one point after the accident, White was on his cell phone talking to his godmother and was too distraught to talk. Zeravica took the phone from him.

"He just kept saying, Oh my God. Oh my God. They locked up on me.' I guess he was referring to the brakes."

White had two dirt bikes tied down in the back of the truck. One of them came loose and was lying on the side of the road at the accident scene.

News of the accident and Pedeferri's serious injuries spread fast among local endurance athletes and his teammates at Rincon Racing, a triathlete club in Ventura.

Bill Escobar, president of the club, said Pedeferri is in top shape, not only competing three times over the years in Hawaii, but most recently finishing 34th overall in a triathlon in Idaho, beating many professionals in the process.

To compete at this level, Escobar said, Pedeferri has had to train daily for years. Sometimes, on his days off work, he trained for as long as eight hours. He was one of only three members of the club to qualify for the prestigious Hawaiian competition.

Unsure exactly how to help, members of the group decided Thursday to donate blood, figuring that even if he didn't need it, someone does, Escobar said.

The type of accident is all too familiar to members of the California Highway Patrol, said Tom Marshall, a spokesman for the CHP in Sacramento.

"This is a dangerous job, and everybody knows that going in," he said. "I know the squad down there in Ventura is a close-knit family. They're pretty shaken up."

But the group has also rallied to help the officer's family and his wife, Carrie, a scientist at Amgen, friends said.

Officers picked up Pedeferri's extended family at the airport, took them to the hospital and made sure meals will be provided for them over the next several days, friends said.

According to Marshall, getting hit while helping a motorist or doing a traffic stop are the most common causes of officer injuries or fatalities.

"That's why we train them to approach on the passenger side; it provides an extra cushion," he said.

— The Tribune in San Luis Obispo contributed to this report.

[xraodcop]

Officer Anthony Pedeferri, badge # 14507 has been a member of the California Highway Patrol for 11 years. His initial assignment was Central Los Angeles, but in May of 1997 he transferred to the Ventura Area Office and has worked in the Ventura County Area since that time. Officer Pedeferri is 36 years old. Tony has undergone surgery to stabilize and repair damaged vertebrae in his neck. His prognosis is uncertain at this time.

[feedmelies]

Best wishes.

I am glad to hear that citizens were so helpful. It is rather inspiring.

[ejay]

Thanks for the update. I briefly met this motor officer once during lunch with one of his co-workers.

[graveyard angel]

Originally Posted by FEDCOPPER74

Outstanding,, doing dispatch myslelf from time to time, all around great job, ped, seemed to do better than the actual dispatcher...lol

I find it interesting that Fed makes a statement like that regarding the dispatcher as if he has actual time under a headset himself! Dispatching every now and then does not a dispatcher make. A little insight sir, that particular dispatcher is a very caring person and the emotions your hearing are genuine concern and she did an awesome job getting information out under stressful conditions. Unless you've been in a dispatchers chair or in a headset under these conditions please keep your judgements to yourself as we don't pretend to know what your thinking while you have perp proned out or one at gun point and you sound like a little girl screaming. In your 4 yrs on the job I can't see how you can have any idea what was going thru a tendered dispatchers mind at a time like this. Furthermore, you would be lucky to have a diaptcher like this on the other end of your radio if you were in a situation of this nature. Hopefully you will never need to know.

[crustyrider]

Has anyone heard anything more on Tony's condition?


Just haven't heard anything as of late.



Dave

[ejay]

He is stable. He has a blog that is dedicated to fundraising, pictures, and letting everyone know how he is doing.

http://pullbackthecovers.blogspot.com/


https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/tonypedeferri

[texaschickeee]

great job by the people, and the former dispatch.
Prays go up for him....and hopefully the drunk will be convicted and serve a long long time.

[Group 29]

I wish she were our dispatcher. Good job.

[Woffski]

Best wishes to the Officer and I hope that he fully recovers. Amen.

[CityCopDC]

Excellent job to the citizen(s) and the dispatcher. The dispatcher was cool as ice under the hammer. Her voice was shaking a bit, but who's wouldnt. I know mine would....

[crustyrider]

Originally Posted by CityCopDC

Excellent job to the citizen(s) and the dispatcher. The dispatcher was cool as ice under the hammer. Her voice was shaking a bit, but who's wouldnt. I know mine would....

Thanks for the support on the citizens, I was one that was down in the ditch with Tony. I just wanted to find out more on how he was doing.


Dave

[CHP Medic]

I heard he was recently upgraded from critical to stable, but other than that I don't know anything.

[eman2k5]

Great job by the folks

[crustyrider]

just to give an update:



For the first time I find myself at a loss of words on how best to describe the days events. On the six week anniversary of Tony’s incarceration a monumental day has swept the ICU today. Tony was taken off the ventilator and not just for a few minutes or hours but for good!! The machine is gone, out of his room!!! Also, he was able to take a short trip outside the ICU and even completely outside the hospital to feel the sun in his face and take in a few breaths of real air. This amazing turn of events truly took us all by surprise. To everyone’s astonishment Tony just appeared from the ICU door, initially to see everyone and take in some sun and a view from a window that looks over the City and ocean in the distance. A blanket of excitement and emotion covered waiting room, tears and smiles went hand and hand. With Tony being off the vent Tony, through much effort can actually speak too!! His first words were warmhearted “Hi Mom”. The sun and the view was so amazing that they wisped Tony down the elevator and out the back door. After exactly six weeks Tony again got to feel the California sun on his face again. I can only imagine what a recharging of the soul that was for Tony…actually, being from Washington I know all to well. Make sure you check out the pictures on the sister site!! Tony was only able to be outside for a few minutes but I am sure that’s all he really needed at this point, just a little nibble to remind him of the outside world and there will be an end to the ICU.

Another great step or steps that Tony has taken is he has been sitting up. He sits up by reaching under his knees and holding himself up. He was able to sit for an incredible 30 minutes!! He has been working up to that over the last couple days. In addition, he was in a “chair”, the one they wheeled him outside in, for over 4 hours!! Getting him out of the bed more is a huge part of the road to recovery.

On the technical side of things, the pneumonia in his lungs is getting a little better and showing signs of clearing up, which is great news as well. Every little step and removal of outside tubes, wires and assistance helps remove a point of entry for infection. With Tony off the vent hopefully the pneumonia bouts will come with less regularity and severity. They also took Tony off a powerful IV drip pain medication and reduce it to a patch. Word came back on whether to do the rib surgery and the answer is no. With the degree and location of the fractures the doctors feel that it would be too invasive and would risk his overall health too greatly.

The days activities completely wore him out and he was able to get some good sleep. Today was a huge leap forward for Tony and with this the light of getting out of the ICU just got a whole lot brighter. As we know all too well, we have to take days like these with regard as tomorrow may bring something different. Today was Tony’s day, a day for him to show all his supports that he is still here and can make big gains. Today is his day to take care of us, we (read: I) needed a day like to today to really show us he can, will and is getting better. Tony is making progress and will continue to do so.

[tshack]

Just WOW!

[crustyrider]

also the driver of the pick up plead not guilty to all charges, and requested a new judge.

[willowdared]

Was the update from the Caring Bridge site?

I've been getting the e-mails on updates, but hadn't checked for today! What awesome news!!!!!!

[crustyrider]

yeah thats where its from.

Tonys brother is real good about the updates