GILROY
– Five days after a local letter carrier Mary Bermudez’s vehicle
rolled over three times on U.S. Highway 101 in Gilroy, family
members have still not been able to talk to her.
GILROY – Five days after a local letter carrier Mary Bermudez’s vehicle rolled over three times on U.S. Highway 101 in Gilroy, family members have still not been able to talk to her.
Bermudez, 58, of Gilroy, was listed in “critical but stable” condition at midday Monday at Stanford Hospital, meaning her injuries are still life-threatening, according to a hospital official.
“They’ve got her completely sedated,” daughter Elizabeth Bermudez, a reporter and anchor for ABC-7 television news in San Francisco, said Monday. “Her eyes, I think they’ve opened, … but there’s been no communication.”
One of the things relatives would like to ask her about is a possible hit-and-run that caused her to lose control of her Jeep Cherokee Wednesday morning while on her mail-delivery rounds to rural south Gilroy.
Because of her condition, Mary Bermudez has also been unable to give an official statement to a California Highway Patrol officer investigating the wreck. She was “in and out” of consciousness at the scene of the accident but managed to tell emergency workers that another vehicle hit hers, causing her to lose control and go into a roll, according to CHP officer David Agredano.
None of the three witnesses interviewed by the CHP saw Bermudez’s vehicle get hit, but there was a dent in the rear of the vehicle that could have been from another vehicle, according the CHP’s preliminary investigation.
Family members and friends are hoping more witnesses to the accident will call the CHP so the true cause of the wreck can be known.
“CHP is doing a great job,” family friend David Gullo, of Campbell, said Monday. “We really appreciate their efforts. We’re just hoping some witnesses will come forward.”
Doctors at Stanford Hospital were able to avoid amputating Mary’s right arm, a happy development for the family, according to Elizabeth Bermudez.
Nevertheless, Elizabeth Bermudez said, her mother also suffered head and chest trauma, requiring her to be hooked to a ventilator. She added that the arm is still badly damaged, the bones splintered from the elbow down, and a second surgery was scheduled for Monday.
“We just appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers,” Elizabeth Bermudez said. “My mom is a big advocate of prayer.”
Mary Bermudez comes from a large family with many members in Salinas and Hollister as well as Gilroy, Elizabeth said.
“She has such an outpouring of goodness that people love her,” Gullo said. “So we want to see her get better.”
Peter Crowley covers public safety for The Dispatch. You can reach him at pc******@************ch.com or 847-7109.
