Good Samaritan missing, man critical after Stockton crash

STOCKTON — A series of accidents Saturday night on the Interstate 5 bridge that crosses the Stockton Channel left one man hospitalized in critical condition and his girlfriend missing and possibly thrown over the bridge railing into the water, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Both the woman and man are being hailed as good Samaritans by authorities for stopping to render aid in the initial crash at 11:10 p.m. on the southbound freeway bridge just north of West Weber Avenue about 80 feet below.

The missing woman has been identified by her sister as Doris Wilson, 26, a Stockton native and the mother of two children ages 1 and 7. The Record is withholding the name of the boyfriend who remained hospitalized Sunday night.

According to what the CHP could determine, the complex accident started when a Honda driven by a 20-year-old French Camp man southbound in the No. 3 lane was cut off by another vehicle swerving into his lane. That caused him to swerve to the right and lose control, his car coming to rest facing east across the freeway in the No. 1 (fast) lane.

The Honda driver was unable to move his vehicle out of the traffic lane. After a couple of minutes, Wilson and her boyfriend approached the scene in her 2017 Honda and stopped near the center median to render aid to the driver, who by this time was outside his vehicle.

Next, a Chevrolet driven at a high rate of speed in the No. 1 lane by a 35-year-old Stockton woman approached the scene and struck the disabled Honda. After the impact, either the Honda or the Chevrolet struck Wilson and her boyfriend outside their vehicle. That crash sent the boyfriend to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, the CHP reported.

Wilson, according to the CHP, could not be located after that crash and it was surmised that she was knocked over the freeway railing to the water below, although there are no known witnesses.

Divers with the Stockton Fire Department and emergency personnel immediately responded and searched both the surrounding land and water but were unsuccessful, spending about three hours in the frigid water until postponing their search until Sunday morning.

With the help of San Joaquin County sheriff ’s boats equipped with sonar, the water search continued into early afternoon Sunday with no success. Conditions in the channel are far from optimal, with cold, dark, murky water about 14 feet deep and scattered with debris below the twin freeway bridges hampering divers.

Wilson’s sister, Mary Wilson, 27, described Doris as “tiny,” standing about 5 feet 1 inch and weighing a scant 95 to 105 pounds.

Many members of Wilson’s large family gathered at Morelli Park under the freeway bridges and near the site of the Sunday’s search. They expressed concerns about the extent of the search during the day but later learned that about a mile around the midpoint had been thoroughly searched.

Fire Chief Erik Newman said his department sent in a four-person dive team that remained in the water as long as possible until extreme cold forced them out for safety reasons.

“There is no visibility at all down there,” Newman said.

Later Sunday, he spoke personally with Wilson’s family and told them authorities were not going to stop searching until they found Wilson, according to her aunt, Alonda Thompson. She was told the search would resume at 8 a.m. Monday.

“We do have to respect the fact that the water is cold and murky and you have to respect the needs of the divers,” she said.

“This is a great loss to a lot of people. There is a lot of love for this young lady,” Thompson said of the “horrible” circumstances the family is dealing with while Wilson remains missing.

Mary Wilson described her younger sister as “fun-loving, full of laughter, trustworthy and very well loved.”

The CHP reported that the drivers of the Honda and Chevrolet both suffered minor to moderate injuries as a result of this collision. Neither drugs nor alcohol appeared to be a factor for those drivers.

It is unknown if alcohol and/or drugs were a factor regarding the two good Samaritans, the CHP report stated. The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information is urged to contact the Stockton CHP office at 209-938-4800.