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Vol. 18, No. 39
YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
District call load still a burden by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
East Contra Costa Fire Protection District’s addition of a fourth station in July improved August’s response times, but the district still struggled with its call load. Average response time in August was 7 minutes, 55 seconds – down from 8 minutes, 21 seconds in July – but there were still 2 hours and 48 minutes when all engines were tied up and unavailable for calls. “Four times during this last month, if someone were to call 911, there were no local (firefighters) that were going to show up,” said Fire Board President Joel Bryant.
Although district officials don’t know how many calls came in during that period, only known CPR calls garnered mutual-aid responses from neighboring Contra Costa County Fire. Only ambulances responded to all other calls. “If you are relying on mutual aid from an ambulance with an average 10-minute response time, and also on mutual aide (from a fire engine) with a 15-minute response time, any patient of sudden cardiac arrest, anaphylaxis, shock or anything of that nature is well past the timelines that would allow for possible resuscitation,” said Board Member Ronald Johansen.
Honoring A Cowboy
Jack Roddy set to be presented with the prestigous Ben Johnson Memorial Award. Page 4
Photo by Tony Kukulich
Bring on the brew
Judgment awarded to victim’s family in vehicle-fatality case Staff Writer
Press file photo
Three years after Burgess Hu of Discovery Bay was struck and killed by an SUV on the way to school, the family has received a stipulated judgment in the case.
Three years after 12-year-old Burgess Hu was struck and killed by an SUV on his way to Excelsior Middle School in Bryon, the California State Superior Court has awarded his family a $1.25 million judgment. The ruling, which was entered on May 16, was made against Brandy Woolman, the driver of the vehicle. The judgment also stipulates that Burgess was without fault in his own death. “We can’t bring people back, but this is a step toward closure for the dad, and that’s an important one,” said Scott Sumner, Hu’s attorney. “It’s closer to justice and (the judgment) certainly backs up what was important to the father. In par-
ticular, that Burgess didn’t cause his own death and that the driver was responsible.” No criminal charges were ever filed against Woolman in the incident, and her automobile insurance company paid the judgment. Attempts to reach out to Woolman for comment on this story were not returned at press time. On Sept. 23, 2013, Burgess, a seventh grader at Excelsior Middle School, was hit by Woolman’s SUV around 8 a.m. According to the CHP report, Woolman, who had a child at the school, was coming out of the northbound exit of the school, paused to look left for traffic before preceding to make a right turn out of the school. As she accelerated, she said she felt a ‘bump.’ After going 50 or 60 feet, according to the report, she stopped
the car, got out and realized she had hit Burgess, who had been dragged under the chassis of the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. However, according to Sumner, and based on witness reports and subsequent depositions, Burgess was riding on the shoulder of the roadway, not the road itself prior to being hit, and was likely still alive at the time he was initially struck. Witnesses reported that after Woolman hit Burgess, she stopped for approximately 40 seconds, but did not get out of her car before she began to move again. According to a witness deposition, she only stopped when an individual forced her. “Burgess’ body was, at that time, wrapped up over a wheel of the SUV, jammed into the wheel see Judgment page 34
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Plan For Your Next Getaway
Beer enthusiasts Julie Caldwell, Rhiannon Keleman and Claudia Timney enjoyed a sampling at last weekend’s Craft Beer Festival, in downtown Brentwood. For a look at all the local events that took place around East County, see page 14.
see District page 34
by Ruth Roberts
September 23, 2016
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Disaster tax relief extensions and domestic violence shelter funding help victims.
Enjoy the last days of summer with these fun locations just a short drive away. Page 13
On A Winning Streak
Falcons’ big plays notch a 48-20 homecoming victory over San Leandro. Page 23 Calendar................................33 Classifieds.............................28 Cop Logs................................32 Entertainment.....................11 Food........................................10 Health & Beauty..................16 Milestones............................27 Opinion..................................22 Pets.........................................17 Sports.....................................23
AB 326
go to news/press releases Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed Assemblymember Frazier’s AB 326 into law.