This past January, life was looking up for Cristina Ramirez Gonzalez and her family of five.
A longtime contract home health care worker, the Napa resident had just taken a full-time job at an assisted living facility. Her husband, Juan Carlos Hernandez Cortez, was racking up overtime at the wine and distribution warehouse where he had worked for five years, often putting in 12-hour days to build up savings. The couple’s three kids, all under 10, were thriving in Napa public schools.
Unable to afford to buy in Napa, where the median home costs $900,000, the family was looking at houses in Fairfield, where property is about 35% cheaper.
“We wanted to buy a house,” Ramirez Gonzalez said. “We were preparing ourselves. Working our full-time jobs and a lot of overtime and saving as much as we could.”
That all changed on a Saturday in late January.
“We wanted to buy a house,” Ramirez Gonzalez said. “We were preparing ourselves. Working our full-time jobs and a lot of overtime and saving as much as we could.”
The family had spent the afternoon visiting Ramirez Gonzalez’s parents nearby and were heading home about 6 p.m. so she could prepare for a night shift. At West Imola Avenue and South Jefferson Street in Napa, they were cruising through a green light when an underage driver in a Lexus blew through a red light, swerved left and smashed into the front of the family’s Honda sedan.
The impact was enough to plow the family across the busy intersection into a power pole.
Ramirez Gonzalez, who was driving, shattered her left leg in the crash, while Hernandez Cortez was left with a concussion and a head gash that required 15 stitches. The family’s oldest daughter, Melanie, 10, broke an arm and thumb, while Diego, a year younger, had a fractured wrist and lacerations on his forehead.
While four of the family members were treated at Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center, the youngest child, Layla, was airlifted to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland, where she underwent surgery for nasal fractures.
The driver of the Lexus, a juvenile with no license or insurance, took off on foot and was arrested about an hour later.
“It’s hard because we don’t know what is going to happen,” Ramirez Gonzalez said. “It hangs over our head and there is nothing we can do until it gets resolved.”
The accident upended the family’s life in both expected and unexpected ways. Once out of the hospital. Ramirez Gonzalez and Hernandez Cortez had to face the reality that they would be out of work for months. Because the other driver was unlicensed and uninsured, and the accident was his fault, it’s still unclear whether insurance will cover the hospital bills, which have now topped $350,000.
“It’s hard because we don’t know what is going to happen,” Ramirez Gonzalez said. “It hangs over our head and there is nothing we can do until it gets resolved.”
But, the more pressing issue was the fact that they still had to pay rent. Facing a future with no income and unsure how they were going to be able to cover their expenses, the family sought help through the Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund, which works throughout the year to prevent homelessness and hunger in the Bay Area’s nine counties. The fund covered 3½ months of rent for the family.
“Being able to get that assistance helped us a lot in trying to catch up,” Ramirez Gonzalez said. “We were just constantly worrying. ‘How are we going to pay for this? How are we going to pay for that?’ Groceries are so expensive. It was a big help.”
Leticia Gonzalez, a social worker with the Neighborhood Initiative, which operates school-based resource centers in Napa County, helped the family with its Season of Sharing application.
“When I heard about their situation it really broke my heart,” she said. “They didn’t have any income to pay their rent. They didn’t know where to turn. Sometimes things happen that we have no control over and we need assistance. I am very grateful Season of Sharing was able to help.”
Meanwhile, both Ramirez Gonzalez and Hernandez Cortez work physically demanding jobs — and neither has 100% recovered. Hernandez Cortez loads cases of wine onto pallets and forklifts them onto trucks. He has been back at work for a few months but still gets frequent headaches related to his head injury. He has not felt well enough to pull all the overtime shifts he used to work.
Ramirez Gonzalez had a metal rod inserted into her right leg and still doesn’t have the doctor’s approval to return to work as she waits to find out if the injury will require another operation. She just started driving again.
“When I heard about their situation it really broke my heart,” she said. “They didn’t have any income to pay their rent. They didn’t know where to turn. Sometimes things happen that we have no control over and we need assistance. I am very grateful Season of Sharing was able to help.”
The psychological impact from the accident is also still present. Melanie, the oldest daughter, suffers from related nightmares — the family’s insurance just finally approved therapy for her.
“Every time we are in the car my kids are scared — if there is a car stopping in front of us they freak out,” Ramirez Gonzalez said.
Meanwhile, the family’s dream of homeownership in Solano County is going to have to wait.
“Right after the accident that all went up in smoke,” Ramirez Gonzalez said. “I can’t help Juan Carlos any more right now, because I’m not able to work, and he doesn’t make enough to qualify on his own. We need more income.”
Hernandez Cortez said he is hoping he will continue to recover so he can go back to working as much as he did before the accident. “Sometimes I still have a lot of pain in my head,” he said. “I have to work to cover my bills, but it’s harder than it used to be.”
Reach J.K. Dineen: jdineen@sfchronicle.com
At Season of Sharing Fund, we believe that an unexpected financial crisis should never mean losing your home. Preventing homelessness isn’t just kind—it’s also the most effective way to keep our communities thriving. 100% of your donation keeps Bay Area residents housed, cared for and nourished.
