ValleyCrest Cos. Mourns Loss of Landscape Crew

CALABASAS, Calif. – ValleyCrest Cos. is in mourning after a head-on collision Friday, September 10, claimed the lives of four employees and seriously injured a fifth. The employees were all members of the same landscape crew and were employed by ValleyCrest Landscape Development in Northern California. They were on their way to a ValleyCrest job site, the Lakes at Discovery Bay located in Brentwood.

The accident occurred around 6:45 a.m. on Vasco Road between Contra Costa and Alameda counties. The injured employee was airlifted to a local hospital and remains in critical condition. Reports indicate that the crewmembers were wearing seatbelts and that a Camaro traveling at speeds up to 70 mph likely caused the accident. The driver of the Camaro apparently lost control of his car and was on the wrong side of the road in slow moving morning commute traffic, hitting the ValleyCrest vehicle head-on.

Richard Sperber, president, ValleyCrest Cos.; Thomas Donnelly, president, ValleyCrest Landscape Development; Raul Diaz De Leon, ValleyCrest Cos. director of human resources; and Berenice Campos, HR employee relations representative, flew to the Bay Area to meet with the victims’ families. Along with the management of VCLD Northern California, they are helping the families make arrangements and assisting them in other ways as necessary during this very difficult time. Branch Manager and ValleyCrest Landscape Development Vice President Jeff Colton gathered his grieving staff and employees to remember the crew. Obviously, all the employees at the branch are especially devastated by the news.

The four ValleyCrest crewmembers killed were:

• Foreman Ignacio Alejandre, 37, an Oakland resident who had been with ValleyCrest for 10 years. Ignacio leaves behind his wife Catalina, 14-year-old son Ignacio and 11-year-old daughter Yesenia.
  
• Jesus Ventura-Gutierrez, 60, an Oakland, resident. Jesus leaves behind his wife Amalia, 7 children between the ages of 15 and 32, spouses and 11 grandchildren.
  
• Jose Villagomez, 38, a San Leandro resident. Jose leaves behind his wife Mercedes, 2 sons – Salvador, 13 and Jose Antonio, 1; and 2 daughters – Elizabeth, 12 and Karina, 8.
  
• Armando Alejandre, 20 also from Oakland and Ignacio Alejandre’s nephew.
  
• Ignacio Ventura, 21 remains hospitalized with serious injuries.

California Highway Patrol officers conducting the investigation reported that the driver, Ignacio Alejandre, did everything possible to avoid the accident.

“In the most tragic event in our company’s 55-year history, a reckless driver claimed the lives of our employees and their loss is immeasurable to us,” Sperber says. “Our thoughts and prayers go to their families, wives, children, and friends.” In addition, ValleyCrest has established The Pleasanton Crew Memorial Fund to provide assistance to the families. All contributions should be sent to:

Mary Clancy
ValleyCrest Cos.
24151 Ventura Boulevard
Calabasas, California 91302
Attn: Pleasanton Crew Memorial Fund