COPING WITH LOSS : GIRL, 8, GRIEVES FOR FAMILY KILLED IN CRASH.Byline: Jeannette DeSantis Daily News Staff Writer Nearly nine months after being orphaned or·phan n. 1. a. A child whose parents are dead. b. A child who has been deprived of parental care and has not been adopted. 2. A young animal without a mother. 3. in a car crash that killed her mother, father and brother, 8-year-old Yesenia Medina still asks her grandmother when her family is coming home. The answer is always the same. ``Everything reminds her of them,'' said Ana Elsy Rojas, who now cares for the girl. ``She keeps expecting them to come back even though she knows they are dead.'' The questions have taken on a new intensity now that a preliminary hearing is under way in Van Nuys Municipal Court for a man charged with murder in the fatal collision. Authorities contend Daniel John O'Hare John O'Hare (born 24 September 1946) is a former Scottish footballer who played for Sunderland and Derby County. He also played for Nottingham Forest and was part of their European Cup victory in 1980. He also won 13 caps for the Scotland national team, scoring 5 goals. , while fleeing police in a stolen Ford Bronco The Ford Bronco was a SUV produced from 1966 through 1996, with five distinct generations. It was initially introduced as a competitor for the Jeep CJ-5 and International Harvester Scout. , hit the Medina family car broadside at nearly 70 mph at a North Hills intersection. O'Hare has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Yesenia's father, Ernesto, 33, and her mother, Ana Luz, 28, were pronounced dead at the scene. Her older brother, Carlos, 11, died several days later of his injuries. After the Aug. 11 crash, Yesenia was hospitalized for 1-1/2 months with a broken leg and skin injuries she suffered when rescuers using the Jaws of Life Jaws of Life A trademark used for a pneumatic tool consisting of a pincerlike metal device that is inserted into the body of a severely damaged vehicle and opened to provide access to people trapped inside. Noun 1. cut her out of the crumpled crum·ple v. crum·pled, crum·pling, crum·ples v.tr. 1. To crush together or press into wrinkles; rumple. 2. To cause to collapse. v.intr. 1. car. She has undergone several surgeries to replace skin on her thigh. Rojas said she asked Yesenia if she wanted to attend O'Hare's court appearance, but she declined. ``She said she didn't want to see him because he is a bad man,'' said Rojas. ``She is afraid of him and wants him to go to jail so he doesn't do the same thing to someone else.'' Rojas went with a friend instead. On Thursday, she sat in a courtroom seat farthest away from O'Hare and quietly stared at him. ``To see that man,'' Rojas said later, her voice dropping off, ``I'll never forgive him.'' Rojas said Yesenia is recovering slowly from the accident. She visits a psychologist each week. In December, she went back to school, but her grades have suffered. Since the accident, Yesenia will eat only the breakfast cereal breakfast cereal, a food made from grain, commonly eaten in the morning. The oldest type of cereal, known as porridge or gruel, requires cooking in water or milk. The modern breakfast cereals, however, are entirely precooked and eaten in cold milk. that was her older brother's favorite. She insisted on keeping her parents' bed and sleeps in it every night. At times, the pain of her loss is so great that Yesenia wakes up crying. Or she mistakes a noise for Carlos' footsteps in her grandmother's tiny apartment. ``She misses her family, especially her brother because they always played together,'' said Rojas. ``Sometimes I'll call out to her and she will say, `Oh grandma, you sound just like my mom' and I'll say, `That's because I am your mother's mother.' '' The night of the accident, Ernesto Medina had brought his two children along for the ride to pick up his wife of 11 years at her food packing job in Chatsworth. About midnight, O'Hare, 27, was attempting to outrun out·run tr.v. out·ran , out·run, out·run·ning, out·runs 1. a. To run faster than. b. To escape from: outrun one's creditors. 2. police who noticed him speeding along Sepulveda Boulevard. Police called off the two-minute chase just moments before O'Hare's vehicle collided with the Medina family car at the intersection of Hayvenhurst Avenue and Parthenia Street. Testimony will resume Monday in the hearing that will determine whether O'Hare should stand trial on charges on three counts of murder. In testimony this week, Officer Norman Kellems of the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Police Department's Valley Traffic Division said that he could barely keep up as O'Hare crossed into oncoming on·com·ing adj. Coming nearer; approaching: an oncoming storm. n. An approach; an advance. traffic, ran red lights and turned corners at such high speeds that the Bronco bronco: see mustang. tilted tilt 1 v. tilt·ed, tilt·ing, tilts v.tr. 1. To cause to slope, as by raising one end; incline: tilt a soup bowl; tilt a chair backward. 2. on two wheels. ``His speed was so great when he made turns that I couldn't make it at that speed and I slid through the intersection,'' Kellems said, adding that they reached speeds of more than 70 mph. Moments after the chase ended, Kellems arrived at the aftermath of the accident. Just two months before the fatal crash, O'Hare had crossed over the side of the road at 65 mph and hit another car head-on, police said. The driver of the other car suffered a broken knee and rib along with other injuries. O'Hare was not arrested but police determined that his license was suspended. The city attorney subsequently filed a misdemeanor misdemeanor, in law, a minor crime, in contrast to a felony. At common law a misdemeanor was a crime other than treason or a felony. Although it might be a grave offense, it did not affect the feudal bond or take away the offender's property. By the 19th cent. charge of driving on a suspended license Aug. 7, four days before the fatal accident. Rojas said there are many times when Yesenia asks why her family was killed. ``I just tell her that a lot of people die the same way,'' Rojas said. ``And I remind her that we are together and we will always take care of each other.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--color) Yesenia Medina lives with her grandmot her, Ana Elsy Rojas. Yesenia survived a car crash. Michael Owen
(2) Murder charges against Daniel O'Hare are being heard to determine whether he should stand trial in the Aug. 11 crash that killed three. Bob Halvorsen/Daily News |
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