It was somewhere around two in the morning when the telephone rang. There was a traffic accident jus’ south of the Del Norte County line and it would take us less time to get there than the closest unit out of Arcata.
Dad and I rolled up to see one body lying in the roadway. The person was alive and thrashing about.
We were told by a bystander who had come upon the accident that there was a car in the thick brush, over the embankment with a couple of people still inside. There was large burnt spot on a giant redwood tree that was still smoldering.
It was obvious that the vehicle had been traveling at a high rate of speed when it left the roadway and slammed into the tree. The person in the roadway was ejected from the car upon impact.
Dad directed me to start first aid on the person in the road. It turned out to be a teenage female.
Both of her feet were nearly amputated at the ankles. And while her bleeding was minimal, she was in severe pain and would not hold still.
The most I could do for her was to immobilize her ankles and get her off the cold asphalt. She also said she was pregnant and was worrying about her baby.
After splinting her ankles and feet, a woman passerby offered to stay with her so I could help Dad down the hill. In a rural setting like the one we were in, any sort of help is usually welcome.
Once at the car, I could see a male body in the front passenger side of the vehicle. It was obvious that from his injuries he was already dead.
In the back seat though, was another male. Dad was trying get the injured man to hold still, but he was having a difficult time.
He was alive and talking, but what he was saying made no sense. When asked how many people there were in the car, he gave conflicting amounts.
Obviously he had a severe head injury and needed medical attention quickly. This caused me to several minutes searching for others that may have been tossed from the car.
I didn’t find anyone else, fortunately.
Shortly thereafter an ambulance from Crescent City arrived. The two person crew along with Dad and I were able to secure the injured man and with a lot of effort get him up the hill and onto the highway.
With everyone but the dead man accounted for, we hurried to get the injured teen and the man loaded and en route to Seaside Hospital. That left the removal of the dead guy to Dad and me.
When we finally got him up and in an ambulance, I took a clear look at his face. He had no identification on his person — but I knew that I knew him.
A California Highway Patrol officer asked me if I knew who the dead man was. I answered, “A kid I go to school with by the name of Alan Wilson.”
However my identification would soon prove to be wrong as officers in Crescent City located Alan. Thankfully he was alive and well.
The following day a positive identification was made and it turned out to be Lesley McCovy. He had graduated the year before and was dating Kim McKail.
Years later, I was working part-time in a one-hour photo lab in Crescent City when Alan came in. He recalled the night the cops came to his parent’s door.
Luckily, Alan took what had happened as an everyday part of life. As for me, I never again made an on-the-scene identification of anyone, even if I knew darned well who it was.