Questions, Few Answers Yet, in Wake of Deadly Car Crash
The mother and daughter killed in Monday's crash on Sycamore Valley Road were the glue that held their family together.
As police continue their investigation into Monday’s fatal crash, the family of the two victims, a Danville woman and her mother, faced having to make arrangements for their memorial service while dealing with the enormity of their loss.
“These two were the backbone of the family. I don’t know what we’ll do without them,” said Mo Ghezavat about his wife of 33 years, Elham Pirdavari.
The 51-year-old mother of two adult children was driving in an SUV with her mother, Mahimdokht Dowlati, 72, on Brookside Drive on Monday. At about 4:20 p.m. their silver Dodge Durango was going south at the Sycamore Valley Road intersection when it was broadsided by a red Toyota pickup traveling west on Sycamore Valley Road.
Pirdavari died at the scene and Dowlati died later that afternoon at John Muir Medical Center.
“She was my guardian angel,” Ghezavat said Wednesday morning about his wife, whom he had known since they were childhood neighbors in their native Iran.
Pirdavari was an extremely loving wife and mother, he said. Besides looking after her family, she was also well known around town for paying home visits to local seniors and preparing homemade meals for them, especially for those who also came from Iran and craved Persian cuisine.
“She was doing God’s work,” Ghezavat said. “I don’t know why He would take her.”
Danvlle police Lt. Jeff Moule said his department was carefully looking into what led to the accident and wouldn’t release any further information until officers had completed the investigation.
He said the driver of the pickup, a 32-year-old Walnut Creek man, was expected to survive. He is hospitalized at Eden Valley Medical Center in Castro Valley. So far, there is no indication that alcohol or drug use were a factor.
City officials are looking into concerns raised by residents about traffic and speeding on Sycamore Valley Road. Danville Mayor Karen Stepper said she is encouraged by the community’s response, including comments left on Danville Patch.
People coming forward is important, Stepper said: “We like to have neighborhood participation. It’s good. It helps.”
Beyond that, the mayor couldn’t comment on the accident because it is still under investigation. Stepper did say, though, she was upset by the news: “What a tragedy,” she said. “It’s very sad.”
Ghezavat can't believe his wife would have done anything to cause the collision. He said she was an extremely cautious person who would never start driving unless she was sure every passenger had his or her seat belt on. That’s just one of the many ways she was conscientious about taking care of other people, he said.
He said his wife was 17 years old and he was 18 when she followed him to the United States in 1977. He had come to study in the Bay Area in the years before the 1979 Iranian revolution.
The two decided to stay in the United States and study computer science at Chico State University. Ghezavat said his wife was brilliant and worked for a time in computer science until she decided to stay home and become a full-time mother.
He said he worked a lot and credits her with doing an excellent job raising their son, Ali, 27, and daughter, Shadeh, 25. He said she was extremely proud of her two children and was always planning in her head both their weddings.
Prior to moving to Danville in 1999, the family lived in Cupertino. Pirdavari’s interest in spending time with elderly people came from grieving her father's death about eight years ago.
She had missed many years with her parents because they were living in Iran and it has always been difficult to travel between the two countries, particularly during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.
Shortly before he died, he had come to the United States for a vacation, then returned home.
“She decided to do all she could to help older persons,” Ghezavat said. “If they couldn’t get to the store to buy medicine, she would go buy medicine. She would take them to doctors. Many of these folks are from the Farsi community. She would make them food.”
Pirdavari was close with her mother and sisters back in Iran. Over the past few years, Dowlati would spend half the year in Iran and half in Danville. Dowlati accompanied Pirdavari when she visited seniors.
“Her mother was her biggest supporter,” Ghezavat said.
Patch will update this story when the family is able to release information about a memorial service
Judy Kuehner
9:33 pm on Wednesday, November 9, 2011
I have to agree, the speed limit is too high for a residential neighborhood I drive this road three times a week to pick up my grandson from Autumn Creek pre-school and the drivers drive way beyond the speed limit, which I believe is 45. There is a digital speed indicator just before Tunbridge Road and the driver's pay not attention to it. It is scary, as a grandmother, to have my grandson in the car while drivers are flipping me off and aggressively driving pass me.
KJ
6:44 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
This is so very sad, unfathomable. My heart goes out to this family. Meanwhile, does anyone else think that it seems odd that they are still, 3 days later, protecting the other driver's identity? What are they afraid of, retribution from a Danville mob? I understand that their investigation results are not finished, but that should not prevent the release of his name. It doesn't usually, & the name must be released eventually, regardless of their findings. Are they waiting for the story to get old so fewer of us pay attention? Their protection of this driver's identity makes it seem as if there is more to the story than meets the eye. Maybe it's normal, but it doesn't seem like the norm to me. Thoughts?
KJ
8:39 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
Thanks, Mom-of-3. I still haven't seen that article.Guess I need more news sources than the Times & Patch.
David Mills
10:37 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
Hello, KJ and Mom of 3:
We do have the name of the driver mentioned in a comment by "Mom"... police have asked us not to release the name of the driver while they are still investigating the accident... we don't know why they made the request, but we have honored it because we don't want to cause any problems with such an important investigation... we have deleted the comment with the name in it and hope our readers will also honor that request... we will be continue to cover the story, including what the investigation reveals
Jen
10:45 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
I drove that stretch of SV yesterday afternoon and when approaching Brookside I noticed a tree with lots of foliage hanging down on my right. This DID NOT impede my view of the stop light but it did distract my attention from the light. This comment is not intended in any way to support the driving behaviors of either party involved. Just something I noticed that could potentially keep drivers safer. The speed limit will never be lowered on the road so as a community we need to think of other ways to make it safer. (Yes, the obvious are slow down and keep distractions to a minimum)
ruth
3:31 am on Sunday, November 13, 2011
Why is the name of the other driver important to know?
I am thinking - hoping - that people understand that he has had his life changed forever too. He will have to live with the fact that he killed two people. Even if it turns out they were the ones at fault, he will be blaming himself, and he will question why he survived and they didn't. I expect no mob. But it is clear from the comments here that thoughts and prayers go out to the two dead women and their families, and not to the other driver and his family. Not revealing the other drivers name just might give them a little better chance to recover from the chock I'm sure they're in.
ruth
3:32 am on Sunday, November 13, 2011
...and with "the comments here" i mean all comments i've seen on this subject on the Internet...
Lori
10:00 am on Sunday, November 13, 2011
It's always the good that die young, leading me to believe that the reason is that they deserve to go to their Heaven and it's their time, perhaps. This is only the testing area (life) RIght now they are both receiving their rewards for being such good people. Those that survive should get some solace from that thought. They are gone to their just rewards. Just believe it and the tears will only be for ourselves suffering the loss of those lovely women. Halleleuia, pray to your God, Mohammed! Find peace in this knowledge and accept it.
Vanessa Fleming
10:32 pm on Saturday, November 19, 2011
Accidents don't happen because people are going 45 on a road designated for 45 mph driving. Accidents happen because people are NOT going 45 on a road designated for 45 mph driving. Lower the limit and guess what? Accidents are still going to happen. It's not the speed limit it's the enforcement. If people we're inclined to follow the rules they would drive safely. However since they obviously aren't, you must enforce the rules rather than create more rules they will likely ignore.
ta
7:08 pm on Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Very sorry to hear someone died in a local traffic accident, but why everyone assumed speeding was a cause in this particular incident? Simply because you have seen other speeders on Sycamore ?
If the other car suddenly cross the road right in front of you within 75 ft ( that is 4 car length), and you have a car at your 10 o'clock position going the same direction blocking your view until this car is right in front of you, you would not be able to completely stop your car at 45 MPH or 40 MPH. The pick up driver could be the real victim and not at his fault.
Let's wait for the full investigation before jumping into any conclusion. I see someone already demand to know the pick up driver's name, please cool your head before blaming game starts. Traffic accident can be one driver or both drivers' split second miss judgment, think of it.
Bill Goodwin
12:56 pm on Friday, March 9, 2012
This is not a residential road, it is a major thoroughfare connecting many thousands of homes to the freeway.
This accident occurred at 4:20 PM, I can't help but think that sun might have been in the drivers eyes..?? I have driven this stretch of road for 25 years and I have always thought that "Someday there will be a terrible accident here due to sun in the Westbound drivers eyes"!! I'm not sure the defendant was speeding because I don't know when or if he started braking prior to the accident.
I also know that trees often do obscure traffic signals/signs in Danville. Perhaps we need to spend more money trimming them -vs- purchasing new patrol cars? In any case, signage is woefully inadequate on East and westbound streets in Danville with regard to warning drivers of sun obstructing views of traffic lights!
What a terrible tragedy for the family of the victims..! Danville needs to take more responsibility for making it's streets safe for drivers! Would it kill them to add 5 seconds to the yellows on the most dangerous locations??
Oh yeah, and if you have some kind of disorder that might disable you while driving a vehicle, you need to not drive and put the rest of us at risk!! I recall a head on crash on the GGBridge where an old timer had some kind of seizure/attack and crossed into oncoming traffic!! (Killed a person!) Why aren't doctors mandated to report to the DMV a patient's severe conditions which should obviously preclude them from driving a vehicle??