White Man Identified in Fiery Crash Caused by Mestizo

KTVU
December 14, 2013

Reed Whittaker worked for the Royal Ambulance
Reed Whittaker worked for the Royal Ambulance of San Leandro. He was killed by a drunken Mestizo when he crashed his car into him from behind.

The man killed in the fiery crash in Livermore Thursday morning has been identified as Reed Whittaker, an EMT from Contra Costa County.

Whittaker worked with Royal Ambulance of San Leandro and was driving his Jeep Cherokee on Interstate 580 Thursday morning when the driver of a hummer crashed into him from behind.

That driver was identified as Primitivo Garcia of Livermore.  Garcia and a passenger in the Hummer escaped the crash with minor injuries.

Police say Garcia smelled of alcohol after the crash and failed a field sobriety test.

“I thought he was just distraught, he could hardly stand. I thought he was either distraught or injured. I didn’t realize he would have been drunk,” said Karl Luchsinger, a construction worker who described what he saw.

“It’s absolutely heartbreaking,” said Jody Iorns, executive director of Mothers against Drunk Driving.

Iorns said DUI accidents are 40 percent higher during the holiday season and that Thursday’s deadly accident is a somber reminder that drunk drivers are on the road at all hours of the day.

“These crashes happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone,” said Iorns.

Steve Grau, the owner of Royal Ambulance tells KTVU Whittaker has worked for the company three years and that he trained other EMT’s.

Grau described Whittaker as being passionate about his work and that he was an excellent human being.