Two Lodians killed in Friday collisions
Two Lodians were killed in separate single-vehicle collisions in Lodi on Friday, according to Detective David Konecny of the San Joaquin County Sheriff ’s Department.
Gabrielle Victoria Somera, 23, was traveling east on East Kettleman Lane, east of North Locust Tree Road, at approximately 12:40 a.m. Friday when she lost control of her 2009 Honda, according to a post on the California Highway Patrol Stockton Office’s Facebook page.
The Honda crossed into the westbound lane, then veered back into the eastbound lane before leaving the roadway on the south side, according to the CHP.
The Honda collided with several trees and ejected Somera, as she was not wearing a seatbelt. She succumbed to her injuries on the scene.
Somera is survived by her parents, Ed and Tami, who said that she was studying to be a medical assistant at Lincoln Technical Academy. As a teenager, she suffered from autoimmune hemolytic anemia, a rare blood disorder that caused her to need spinal surgery at the age of 13. This inspired her to pursue a career in the medical field to help others, according to Tami.
Gabrielle was famous for her smile, Tami said, and loved to sing and dance.
“She danced from the time she was 3 until she had her spinal surgery. She did cheer competitively and had to stop because of her illness, but her doctor allowed her to cheer at Bear Creek High School her senior year,” Tami said.
Gabrielle was fiercely devoted to her younger brother, Jacob, and her boyfriend, Joey Paper, Tami said.
A lover of both animals and the outdoors, Gabrielle adopted a dog, Maya, that her parents will raise and spent much of her time hiking in Northern California and Arizona. Gabrielle also loved the water, spending much of her childhood at her family’s beach home in Marin County.
“Our family has a home at Dillon Beach, and she pretty much grew up there. She loved the ocean, she wanted to live there one day. We often called her a mermaid, we teased her all the time about being a mermaid,” Tami said.
Gabrielle was an ambassador for Old Crooked Trail Scents, designing fragrances for their home and personal care products, Ed said, and developed a love of cooking working at Bueno Italiano Cafe. She was also close friends with Heather Getz, the daughter of Bueno Italiano Cafe’s owner Sarah Randall, according to Kyle Getz, Heather’s husband.
“She was pretty much like a sister to my wife, and a daughter to her mom. She was a bridesmaid at our wedding in September of last year. She was definitely a big part of everybody’s day because she brought a big smile and a bright attitude. Just a bright, bubbly personality that carried on through anybody she interacted with or met. She befriended pretty much everybody she met, and she always wanted to make sure everyone felt included,” Kyle said.
Gabrielle made no fewer than 12 trips to Disneyland with her family and friends, according to Ed, and was a devoted San Francisco Giants fan since she was 1 year old. Gabrielle was beloved by her many friends, and was involved in charities and volunteer work.
“The many friends she had all wanted to be around her all the time. Even though she was the smallest person in the crowd, she always seemed to be the center of attention,” Ed said.
“She was very petite. She was the smallest of us, but she was the mightiest of us. If you met her, you wouldn’t forget her,” Tami said.
In a separate incident, Fernando Veledias-Hernandez, 17, was driving a 1995 Nissan south on North Lower Sacramento Road, north of Armstrong Road, at approximately 11:48 p.m. Friday when he lost control of the vehicle, according to a post on California Highway Patrol Stockton Office’s Facebook page. The Nissan left the lanes and traveled on the right shoulder for a short distance, sideswiping two metal poles.
Veledias-Hernandez attempted to steer the Nissan back onto the road but lost control and veered across the southbound lanes, according to the CHP. The Nissan drove over a raised median and crossed the northbound lanes, where it left the roadway and collided with an irrigation ditch. Veledias-Hernandez, not wearing a seatbelt, was partially ejected from the Nissan and succumbed to his injuries on the scene.