Anybody else notice the two different accident dates cited in the suits.....’re Manuel Gonsalves being June 17th and the other regarding the Middaugh death indicated as June 25th?
The first newspaper article must've had some errors. Manual Gonzalves most likely wasn't the driver of the (Cadillac) car John Cacciola died in, as he was never sued. He was also listed as a 'passenger' in the car in the articles about the lawsuits. Aside from that, he was suing the Middaughs for $25,000 in damages for injuries in the crash. Tony Fernandez was most likely the driver of the Cadillac, as he's mentioned in the other articles as being sued for damages. And in the final article about the court settlement, it's described as "...an auto accident involving...the Fernandez car..." Which makes me wonder, why John Cacciola's brother Tom Cacciola was listed in at least four articles as being sued by the Middaughs. He was never mentioned as a passenger in the car with the other three. Was it Tom's Cadillac Tony Fernandez was driving? Were the Middaughs seeking damages from both the driver of the car, and the owner of the car? Maybe the '38 was sold to help pay for settlement and court costs. Wherever it wound up, I'm thinking the '38 was eventually 'updated' into a Street Rod. Maybe it's still out there, tucked away in someone's garage, seldom driven.
I think where they are talking about is on Highway 9, not 17. The road changes names several times. 9 is called Saratoga-Sunyvale, but is named DeAnza near Cupertino. From the south section of Saratoga is is named Saratoga-Los Gatos. Also, this road doesn't have a divider, and the article mentioned a cross-over head on collision. Highway 17 (A.K.A. Santa Cruz Highway) has a divider most all of the way. Seems odd that it was stated to be a hot rod that crossed over. Wonder if it was a meetup where such incident happened??? One thing odd is that the article says Los Gatos Highway near Santa Cruz. However, if it was on Highway 9 it would have been near Los Gatos, the opposite side of the Summit on Highway 17 (Santa Cruz Highway).
I don't think the dividers/barriers were put in till the 80's maybe, I'm pretty sure I recall driving the road when it had no barriers
@TraditionalToolworks - The accident definitely occurred on Hwy 17, not Hwy 9 ... See my earlier post (#27). Also ... My office is right off Hwy 17 in Campbell/Los Gatos (near Lake Vasona). A few of my coworkers grew up in the Los Gatos, Boulder Creek, & Santa Cruz areas during the ‘50s & ‘60s ... and all have confirmed that Hwy 17 (from Los Gatos to Santa Cruz) was known as the “Los Gatos Highway”.
Hemi, I read your other post and it makes sense, and I see in the article it states that the hot rod crossed over the center divide which hit them. Wow, I wonder how you get through one of those dividers? Normally those dividers are pretty darn good at keeping the cars on their own side. When I first moved to the Bay area in the early 90s I used to sail out of Santa Cruz. Highway 17 is one of the most dangerous roads in this area, IMO. The scissors of life get pulled out a lot when there's an accident.
@TraditionalToolworks - There were no center dividers on Hwy 17 in June of 1950 ... nor 1960 ... nor 1970. I somewhat remember steel guard rails being installed sometime in the ‘70s. As @Budget36 already mentioned, the concrete dividers weren’t installed until the ‘80s.
The term “center divide” is not necessarily the same as “center divider”. I have seen lane stripes referred to as “divides”, mean demarcation not physical barriers. We have a tendency to apply current standards to old terms as things evolve but need to remember what was common in the period in which the news article was written..
The Jalopy Journal
