Three paramedics en route to a car wreck feared the worst when they were abruptly called back to the station and a chaplain was dispatched to the scene.
All three rescue workers called their families. Only Jake Schonert could not reach his wife."He had just hung up the phone when the chaplain walked up," said Capt. Dave Leary. "It was complete devastation."
A driver with a high blood alcohol content and two previous drunken driving convictions missed a curve Tuesday and crashed into Patricia Schonert's Honda, pinning her inside. Another car slammed into the wreckage.
The first firefighters on the scene in Saugus, about 30 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, called for reinforcements and Schonert's squad rushed out.
One of the firefighters at the scene recognized Patricia Schonert, a 35-year-old mother of four, whose heart had stopped beating. Fire officials called Schonert's squad off before it got to the accident.
"I can't imagine what it would have been like had he showed up. Those cars hit hard," said Capt. A.J. Cunningham. "It was tough enough for us.
"We were doing everything we could to save her. In this case, there was no hope."