A Touch of Class
 


Road:
                        Northbound CA State Hwy 65, 2 ¾ miles north of Ducor
Location:                  Ducor, California

Victim:                 
      Fidel G. Ruis
Date of Accident:   
10-4-98

Inscription:              “Fidel Ruis 
                                            08-02-73
       10-04-98”

Age:                                 25

Description:            This is by far the most elaborate road cross I’ve seen.  It is a magnificent black wrought-iron cross, lovingly decorated with new fake flowers.  The cross is wonderfully ornate and quite striking when viewed from the road.  Absolutely beautiful.  The victim's name and stats are painted on a plaque in the middle of the cross.
 

Analysis:                 As nice as this road memorial is, I gotta say it:  The victim is probably another Central Valley migrant farm worker.  With its curves and vanilla scenery, this is a fairly easy road to drive.  It is not too far from Porterville, a rather disgusting pit of a city stuck in the middle of nowhere, so it gets a fair amount of traffic.  I suspect poor Fidel was driving home to Porterville after a night on the town in Bakersfield.  I suspect he met his maker after being lulled to sleep by the gently winding road.  But to make this more dramatic, let's say that he valiantly swerved to avoid a cow that wandered onto the road.  Once his tires hit the unpaved side of the road, he lost control of the car and flipped it.  Poor Fidel was thrown from the car and impaled on a nearby fence.  Who knows, it may have happened that way.  Incidentally, his parents are still maintaining the cross 4 years after the accident.  In fact, a new bouquet graces the road memorial as we speak...

More Images:     Photo One - Photo Three

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