Another Tragedy 19 years later 4-18-09

Motorcyclist killed in crash

DUI suspect arrested
By Cameron Macdonald - Citizen Staff Writer
Published: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 2:05 PM PDT
A 33-year-old driver allegedly killed a motorcyclist in a collision in Elk Grove on April 18. Elk Grove police arrested Rebecca Armida Vela of Sacramento on suspicion of murder and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Sacramento County coroners identified the victim as 54-year-old Stanley Franklin Spaeth of Sacramento.
The crash occurred around 10:30 p.m. near the corner of East Stockton Boulevard and Teresa Way, which is a few blocks away from Elk Grove Regional Park. Police found Vela at the crash site and determined she was intoxicated. Investigators believe that she first sped her 1997 Acura TL car northbound in the southbound lane of East Stockton Boulevard. She then swerved back into the northbound lane where she allegedly rear-ended the motorcyclist who was driving northbound. The impact threw him off his motorcycle and fatally injured him, Elk Grove police spokesperson Christopher Trim reported. Officers later arrested and booked Vela into the Sacramento County Main Jail with no bail. Trim declined to release her photograph to the media since police investigation is ongoing. This is the second fatal auto crash to occur in Elk Grove this month. A 34-year-old driver was killed in a head-on collision outside Pleasant Grove High School on April 9. Elk Grove also experienced two homicide cases during the same night on April 18. A woman was shot to death a few hours later in Laguna during a party shooting incident. Those are the city’s first homicide cases in more than a year since no homicides were reported in Elk Grove last year. Readers with information about the incident can contact the Elk Grove police’s traffic bureau at (916) 478-8131.

This is a little freaky to me.... But 19 years ago today my brother was killed. The headlines read exactly the same as this one does. I had a pretty eerie feeling about this when I heard about this accident. A friend told me that over the weekend that someone had been killed on the frontage road not far from our houses. The more that I found out about it the more eerie of a feeling I got. I opened up the Elk Grove Citizen to read the article and that is when it became apparent of just how eerie it was and why.
Wow, you would think with all the senseless tragedies in this world that someone would think twice about driving drunk. That was not the case in my brothers accident but nonetheless it is still a very important thing to think about. Is it worth someone else's life? My heart goes out to his family. He was a hardworking man just trying to provide for his family. The same way that my brother was.

Rest in peace Joseph William Fischlin and Stanley Franklin Spaeth of Sacramento. Remember that you will never be forgotten!!!!!!