Store run turned tragic for Westley woman, son

WESTLEY -- Monica Martinez wasn't feeling well. She was two months pregnant and remembered she had a prescription for prenatal vitamins in her boyfriend's car, so she drove to a Gustine repair shop Monday night to get it. Her 3-year-old son, Eloy, went with her, as did boyfriend Baudelio Raygoza.

"Eloy was always with his mom," said Martinez's twin sister, Perlita. "Wherever she went, he would go."

Heading back to Westley, Raygoza led the way in his newly repaired car. As they drove through Patterson, Martinez pulled ahead.

"She waved at him as they drove past him and she got in front," Perlita said. "Now, (Raygoza) blames himself. He says he should've been in front and this would've happened to him."

Minutes later, a sport utility vehicle going the opposite way on Highway 33 crossed the center line, hitting Martinez's Mazda 6 head-on.

The crash occurred about 10:50 p.m. Monday just south of Rogers Road and north of Patterson.

Mario Saldivar, 26, of Patterson, was driving a 1999 Chevrolet Blazer that collided with Martinez's car, according to Stanislaus County coroner's officials. Saldivar, Martinez and Eloy were pronounced dead at the scene.

Maximo Virgen, 43, of Patterson was a passenger in the Blazer. He suffered major injuries and was flown to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto, where he was listed in fair condition Wednesday night, according to a nursing supervisor.

After the crash, the Blazer overturned and came to rest on its wheels on the highway's west shoulder. The Mazda stopped on the highway's east shoulder, engulfed in flames.

Raygoza watched the crash happen in front of him. He was visibly distraught on Wednesday and was unable to talk about the crash.

Attempts to reach Saldivar's family Wednesday were unsuccessful.

"(Monica) had barely told me on Friday that she was pregnant," a tearful Perlita Martinez said Wednesday. "I came home on my lunch break and Eloy came up to me and hugged me. I didn't know it was going to be the last time I would hug him."

Perlita said she saw her sister was not feeling well, so she advised Monica to pick up the prenatal vitamins.

Perlita and her brother, Saul Martinez, examined the burned Mazda on Wednesday. They said the flames melted some of the metal; they couldn't imagine what the fire did to Monica and Eloy.

"There's no way she could've escaped death," Saul Martinez said.

Martinez lived with her son, sister and mother in a small Westley home near Grayson Charter School. The Martinez sisters did lots of things together, such as earning therapeutic health technician certificates at a Modesto trade school.

When they couldn't find work, they enrolled at Modesto Junior College in hopes of becoming day care assistants.

"We were supposed to show up for orientation on Aug. 29, but I don't think I can handle that right now," Perlita said.

Instead of getting ready for a semester of school, Perlita spent Wednesday making funeral arrangements.

She said Raygoza was the father of her sister's unborn child, and he cared for Eloy as his own.

Maria Martinez, 67, also was distraught, but she tried to console her daughter's boyfriend Wednesday.

"I told him to try to calm down," she said in Spanish. "Right now, we're feeling a lot of pain, but with time God will give us the strength to continue and lead fruitful lives."

The family already has dealt with the sudden loss of a loved one after the sisters' father, Jesus Antonio Martinez, died at 69 within a month of being diagnosed with cancer.

"Death always happens suddenly, and we never know when it will come," Maria Martinez told Raygoza.

Perlita said her sister separated from her husband, Rodolfo Bahena, shortly after becoming pregnant with Eloy. Perlita called Eloy's father, who lives in the Los Angeles area, to notify him of the crash.

Neighbors have gone door-to-door collecting about $600 to help the family with funeral expenses.

"They can't believe that Monica and Eloy are gone," Perlita said. "Monica was a good mother. She would do anything for her son."

Family members have scheduled a funeral for Monica Martinez and her son at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Patterson District Cemetery in Westley.

Bee staff writer Rosalio Ahumada can be reached at rahumada@modbee.com or 578-2394.

This story was originally published August 7, 2008 at 1:02 AM with the headline "Store run turned tragic for Westley woman, son."