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 El
Centro man, 58, killed in accident
By HEATHER BREMNER,
Friday, December 3, 2004 3:24 PM PST
Staff Writer
An El Centro man was killed Thursday morning when his pickup was
broadsided by a Peterbilt tractor-trailer at the intersection of Ross Road
and Highway 111.
Kenneth Hess Jr., 58, was dead when officers arrived at the scene, said
California Highway Patrol Officer Robert Gonzalez.
Rosendo Zavala III, 37, of Yuma was driving his rig west on Highway 111
around 10:50 a.m. on his way to an Aten Road service station to refill his
fuel tank, according to the CHP report.
Hess was heading west on Ross Road in his pickup, possibly to a job site,
the report states.
Zavala and Hess entered the intersection of Ross and 111 at the same time.
The collision sent both vehicles in a northwesterly direction.
Zavala was not injured.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation, said Gonzalez.
"The reason why we didn't put down who was at fault was because we have
conflicting witness statements, so we don't know who ran a red light," he
said.
Gonzalez said to determine the cause they will look at the "computer
boxes" in both vehicles to "get a gist of what car was moving, what car
was stopped" and so on.
Both drivers were wearing seat belts.
A close friend of the Hess family said Kenneth Hess had just dropped off a
burrito at Meadows Union School District, where his wife, Sue, serves as
superintendent/principal.
Kenneth Hess was heading to a job site when he was hit, the friend said.
Hess owned Ken Hess Painting in El Centro.
Obituary
KENNETH ERNEST HESS JR., 58
Nov. 26, 1946 - Dec. 2,
2004
Visitation will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday in Hems Bros. Mortuary chapel
in El Centro for Kenneth Ernest Hess Jr., 58, of El Centro, who died in an
automobile accident Thursday in El Centro.
Church
services will be at 10 a.m. Friday in Grace Lutheran Church in El Centro.
Pastor Richard Collin will officiate.
Burial will
be in Evergreen Cemetery in El Centro. A reception for the family will be
at the Holtville Athletic Club following the funeral services.
Mr. Hess was
born Nov. 26, 1946, in Calexico.
He graduated
from Holtville High School in 1964 and attended Imperial Valley College.
He served honorably in the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne from February 1966 to
1968.
Mr. Hess
married Sue Lehmann on Nov. 14, 1970. They were married for 34 years.
He was an
active member of the Imperial Valley community and was an avid sportsman
and car enthusiast. He was the owner of Ken Hess Jr. Painting Co. and had
worked in the painting business throughout his life as painter and
contractor.
Mr. Hess will
be remembered by all who knew him as a man of integrity, honesty and
kindness in all his life's pursuits. He will be missed by his many friends
and family who loved him, family said.
Survivors include his wife, Sue Lehmann Hess of El Centro; son and
daughter-in-law, Michael and Kate Hess of San Diego; daughter, Stephanie
Hess of San Diego; grandson, Aiden Hess of San Diego; mother, Doris Hess
of Goleta; sisters and brothers-in-law, Loma and Joe Livernois of
Prunedale and Karin and Greg Heiman of Santa Inez; brother, Kevin Hess of
Stockton; and mother-in-law, Ruby Lehmann of El Centro.
The family suggests memorials be sent to the Grace Lutheran Church &
School or to the Meadows Union School Library Memorial.
We will miss you, my friend. |
