Tragic Events

This page is a memorial to tragic deaths in Davis, and Davis residents, students, and employees who died outside of town since 2010.

If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide, please call 911, visit Suicide Prevention of Yolo County, or see other local resources on the Emergency Psychological Services page. Also if you or someone you know is profoundly troubled, depressed, or has exhibited disturbing personality changes, Counseling and Psychological Services offers very important resources.

See also:

• Tragic Events By Type
  

• Tragic Events, 2005-2009
  

• Tragic Events, 2000-2004
  

• Tragic Events, 1990-1999
  

• Tragic Events, 1840-1989

Renne Lyra Morrow, 19, (who was transgender and identified by police as Brennan Morrow), was struck by a vehicle on Saturday Feb. 4, around 11 p.m. The driver, who was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, was a 62-year-old female Davis resident. She was driving eastbound on Arlington Boulevard near Shasta Drive. Police determined that Morrow had been drinking that night, but they're still investigating whether that played a role in the accident. Morrow died on February 7. (Davis Patch, February 7, 2012)

Megan Glanville, age 25 and a UC Davis law school student, was struck by a pickup truck while jogging at 6:40am at the intersection of Lake and Russell, and died later that day at the hospital. Thick morning fog was a factor in the accident. (Davis Enterprise, December 22, 2011)

John Henderson (May 23, 2004 – December 20, 2011) died after falling nearly 60 feet from a ski lift at the Sugar Bowl Ski Resort.
(Davis Enterprise, December 21, 2011)

A dead man, age 39 and a resident of Davis, was discovered at the Yolo Basin Wildlife Area. The man had committed suicide that morning with a firearm. (Davis Enterprise, December 8, 2011)

Thomas Francis Dennis Ferguson, 33, was found dead on 19th St. just South of S St. in downtown Sacramento at approximately 9:45 pm on Monday November 28, 2011. He was fatally injured by a hit and run driver who has yet to be identified or captured. This is a tragic loss for all of his friends here in the Davis community and he will be sorely missed. He had moved to Davis in 2000 from the San Jose area and was a long-term resident of Davis California who had moved to Sacramento in 2009. He had been a loyal co-worker and friend to many people from Woodstock's Pizza and the former Blockbusters on F St. in Davis. He loved the Dacshund races on Picnic Day, loved the local band scene and was a frequent pub crawler before giving up alcohol altogether.
CBS

David Erickson, age 36 and a resident of Davis, was in the passenger seat of a car that veered off the road and hit a tree at 11:25pm on westbound I-80 near Old Davis Road. He died at the scene; the driver was badly injured but survived. Neither passenger was wearing a seat belt. Police plan to file charges against the driver based on toxicology tests. (Daily Democrat, November 23, 2011)

Robb Deignan, age 65 and a resident of Sacramento, crashed his bike in the Foxy's Fall Century ride and died the next day at the hospital. It was the first fatality in the 35-year history of the Davis Bike Club. (Davis Enterprise, October 18, 2011)

Kevin Gerard Seery, age 42, was found strangled to death in his residence at College Square Apartments. It was the first homicide to occur in Davis in almost 7 years. James Elron Mings, another Davis resident, was arrested in response to the homicide. Mings told police that he had recently befriended Seery and that his act was a mercy killing with the victim's consent. A grand jury indicted Mings for murder. (Davis Enterprise, October 2, 2011; Davis Enterprise, December 1, 2011)

Heather Sieren, age 43 and a resident of Sonoma, died in a reckless driving accident at 12:20am on I-80 in Davis. She overshot a lane change, drove onto the center divider, then veered entirely off the freeway and ran into a tree. She was also not wearing a seatbelt and alcohol was thought to be a factor. (Sonoma Index-Tribune, September 30, 2011)

Joyce Ann Tusan-Dalton, age 57 and a resident of Davis, drowned while kayaking in the American River. The kayak flipped upside down near the Watt Avenue Bridge; her kayaking partner in the two-seat kayak managed to swim to safety. (Davis Enterprise, September 6, 2011)

A 71-year-old Davis man lost his life Sunday night after being struck by two vehicles while biking on County Road 99 north of Covell Boulevard, according to the California Highway Patrol. Terry Tanner was riding in the middle of the southbound traffic lane at about 9:45 p.m. when he was hit from behind by an Acura Integra, whose driver, 40-year-old Ibrahim Almajali of Woodland, told officers he had not seen the bicyclist in front of him, CHP Officer Cindy Leal said.

The 55 m.p.h. impact caused Tanner to strike the windshield and roof of the Acura, then land in the southbound traffic lane, Leal said. Almajali stopped his vehicle after the collision and ran back to the scene. About a minute later, another vehicle approached the scene at 55 m.p.h. and, despite Almajali’s efforts to wave down the driver, also struck Tanner, according to Leal. Tanner was pronounced dead at the scene of multiple blunt-force injuries. His death has been ruled accidental, Yolo County Chief Deputy Coroner Robert LaBrash said today.

Danny Gene Ferguson, age 54, was killed by an Amtrak train while trying to cross the tracks at the Amtrak station. (Davis Enterprise, July 1, 2011)

56-year-old Steve Settje was killed when his truck crashed into a telephone pole just after midnight on County Road 29, just east of County Road 100A, about a mile north of town. (Sacramento Bee, May 12, 2011 (link))

At a post Picnic Day party Scott Heinig, age 22 and a UC Davis student, died a few hours after being punched in the face. According to the police and coroner's investigation, Heinig, after getting drunk, demanded that one of his friends punch him in the face. Although they refused, he punched one of his friends and the friend punched him back. The blow tore an artery in Heinig's neck from the twisting motion of his head; he then fainted and hit his head on the pavement. The police consider the fatality to be a freak accident and they did not file charges. (Sacramento Bee, July 4, 2011)

Alexander Goldschneider, age 21, was found dead in his Castilian dorm room. Police later concluded that he had committed suicide with an overdose of over-the-counter medicine. (Davis Enterprise, May 9, 2011)

Teresa Sedillo, age 64 and a resident of Davis, made a U-turn on northbound side of Highway 113 in Woodland, then died in a head-on collision with another car. Her boyfriend, riding in her SUV, was seriously injured in the crash. One of her sons told the Davis Enterprise that she may have intended suicide. (Davis Enterprise, March 2, 2011)

UC Davis student, Sandra Adelin Garcia-Velazquez, died at 4:20am when her Jetta, which was traveling eastbound on 8th Street, suddenly veered across the westbound lane and struck the base of a 60-year-old magnolia tree. The vehicle then ricocheted off the tree and smashed into a house on Miller Drive. Garcia-Velazquez was driving one of two vehicles heading home from a party on Anderson Road, when the crash occurred.

Bruce Shawn Winder (July 22, 1954 – July 28, 2010), a Davis resident and former employee of UC Davis, died in a bicycle accident on tour with the Davis Bike Club in Quebec, Canada. He was struck and killed by an RV, and his wife was seriously injured. (Davis Enterprise, October 10, 2010)

David Bradley Van Buren (June 6, 1974 – June 5, 2010), a homeless resident of Davis, committed suicide in the Monroe Detention Center, after being arrested for intoxication in violation of parole. (Daily Democrat, December 28, 2010)

An unidentified University of California at Davis student committed suicide by unknown means. The incident occurred on Bearden Street.

Richard O'Brien, age 19, of Davis, died during his freshman year at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. He was skiing at nearby Ski Bluewood and struck a tree. Despite wearing a helmet, he passed away in the ski patrol room before ambulances could arrive.

Joseph John Rivard, age 33, was killed by an Amtrak train near the UC Davis Arboretum on Saturday, January 30th, 2010, at approximately 9 pm. Authorities do not know if the incident was an accident or a suicide. Someone with the same name and a consistent age, described as a transient, was arrested in 2004 in El Cerrito for unsafe bicycling and suspected meth possession. (Davis Enterprise, February 2, 2010; El Cerrito Police Department press release no. 04-19225.)

Aretha Goldine McDonald, age 46 and a resident of Davis, was found strangled in a hotel room in Woodland, on the morning of January 13. Two Woodland residents were arrested for the crime the same day. (Davis Enterprise, January 15, 2010)

Richard Jung, age 21 and a senior at UC Davis, died on New Year's Day in a freeway accident on Highway 46 near San Luis Obispo. His car was rear-ended by a drunk driver and pushed into oncoming traffic, which then caused a head-on collision with a third car. Jung's mother and the driver of the third vehicle also died. (The California Aggie, January 12, 2010)

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2011-12-29 23:38:55   The tragic events by type page is probably the most morbidly interesting thing I've read. —MikeyCrews