2 Out of Harm’s Way
VENTURA — Because of a simple change of routine, Suzanne Erickson and her daughter became accident victims.
The sun was shining brightly the morning of Sept. 3 when Erickson, 26, packed 18-month-old Destiny and her stroller onto a city bus for a trip to Buenaventura Mall.
When it was time to go home, she decided not to take the bus because the weather was nice and it was less than a mile down Telegraph Road to the house she shares with her parents. Erickson decided to walk, pushing Destiny in the stroller.
About 11:30 a.m., near Hoover Avenue, Erickson heard a loud noise behind her, and a truck came flying off the road. She doesn’t remember what happened next.
Witnesses say she pushed the stroller out of the way, probably saving her daughter’s life. Destiny suffered only scrapes and bruises.
But the truck, driven by 77-year-old Carrol James Smith of Ventura, pinned Erickson against a brick wall.
She recalls going in and out of consciousness as she lay pinned beneath the vehicle. She kept thinking, “What happened to Destiny?â€
Most of the incident is a blur. “I don’t even think there are words to describe what I was feeling,†she said.
Erickson nearly died. She suffered major internal injuries as well as a broken neck and a crushed pelvis. A strip of skin more than a foot long was ripped off her left leg.
She was in guarded condition at Ventura County Medical Center for 10 days and remained there for three weeks. When her condition improved, she was transferred to St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, where she stayed for more than a month.
On Oct. 29, the wheelchair-bound woman returned home. A month later, she got rid of her wheelchair. In mid-December, the neck brace--or “halo†as she refers to it--came off.
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Erickson, a single mother, said she is thankful for simple pleasures, such as watching her daughter and 3-year-old son, Joseph, open their gifts Christmas Day.
At that moment, she knew no present under the tree could compare to the joy of being alive.
“Christmas took on more importance this year,†Erickson said. “There are times when I thought last Christmas [1995] could have been my last.â€
Erickson suffers recurring pain in various parts of her body, and she has difficulty moving her neck. She uses a cane on occasion, and e must undergo at least one more operation on her leg.
The recuperation forced her to drop out of Ventura College, where she was studying history and archeology. She has taken a leave of absence from her job as a shipping container assembler at Weyerhaeuser Co. in Santa Paula.
After the accident, Smith was booked into Ventura County Jail on a felony charge of driving under the influence of alcohol and causing injury. He posted bond and was released.
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Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Jim Grunert said the investigation found there was not enough evidence to file criminal charges against Smith.
“We reviewed the case for driving under the influence with injuries. But the evidence just wasn’t there,†Grunert said.
“I can understand that, from a legal standpoint, they won’t be able to do anything. But I still think the guy should be ashamed of himself,†said Erickson, who is considering a lawsuit against Smith.
Smith could not be reached for comment, and Erickson said she has not heard from him.
“It surprises me. But even if I did hear from him, I really don’t know what I would say or how I would handle it,†she said.
The crash was especially difficult for Erickson’s parents, Sheila and Joel.
“When she was in the hospital and they told us she was grave, the words didn’t phase me. It didn’t mean anything to me because all I thought was that’s my daughter,†said Sheila Erickson, 50.
An avid motorcyclist, 56-year-old Joel Erickson, a supervisor at the plant where his daughter works, was in Minnesota on a motorcycle ride when his daughter was injured. When he got word of the crash, he came back to California to make daily visits with his wife to the hospital.
“My husband and I knew she would get better,†Sheila Erickson said. “The strength Suzanne showed was helpful in her healing.â€
Erickson said she used laughter to struggle through the toughest days.
“You suffer a lot of indignities in the hospital, but I just let my sense of humor get me through it,†she said. “One day they asked me if I knew where I was, and I told them I was in the hospital.
“Then they asked me if I knew how I got there. I said the aliens brought me here in their spaceship. It took them a while to realize I was joking.â€
Homecoming was a wonderful day in the Erickson household. Suzanne was overjoyed to see the children run across the room to greet her.
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“It was a sight to behold,†she said. Soon after, they went to a local animal shelter and came home with a black Labrador named Shadow, who has become a faithful companion.
The experience taught Erickson to consider her surroundings differently.
“A lot of times you notice the bad people more than the good people. But there have been so many good people through this that I don’t even think about the bad people,†she said.
“Some things still get to me. My emotions are closer to the surface.â€
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