A Drunk Driver Destroyed Two Families In 1988

It was about this time of year back in 1988, a hot July weekday. Bill, a maintenance worker for Glendale Parks, was off work when he got a call from his sister. She had a flat tire and was calling from a pay phone in front of Mike’s Verdugo Room (today’s Blue Moon Lounge) at 3509 N. Verdugo Road. Bill drove over and changed her tire. At about 5 p.m., he finished and invited his sister to join him inside the bar for a drink. She declined, but Bill entered the cool, dark bar to have a few beers.

Down in the Verdugo Woodlands two moms, Valerie Cramer and Patricia Carr, both in their 30s, talked about taking a walk later that evening with their kids. As the sun began to disappear behind the Verdugo Mountains, the families set out. Valerie was with her daughter Brianna, 9, and son Billy, 11. Patricia was with her 6-year-old daughter Karen. The two little families walked north until they got to the spot where Verdugo and Canada Boulevards split. In the fork of that intersection there was a small dirt island where there was a crosswalk. The families stood on the island and waited to cross.

Back up the street at Mike’s Verdugo Room, it was 8:30 p.m., and Bill had drunk several beers. Time to head home so Bill stepped out into the warm evening, got in his car and pulled out of the parking lot. He was feeling good – confident – so he floored it down Verdugo. He made the turn where Verdugo merges with La Crescenta Avenue – no problem – and kept the pedal to the floor as he went down the straightaway in front of the Oakmont golf course. He was doing 80 when he saw the next curve coming up fast where Verdugo and Canada split. He turned the wheel, but the car kept going straight. The tires screeched as the car drifted toward the dirt island. Time seemed to slow down. Suddenly in his windshield, Bill saw a big group of people. Bill saw one of them, looked like a boy, dive sideways but the others just stood there. 

There was a loud bang as the front of his car hit the bodies. The car stopped just short of the front yard of a house on the other side. Bill flung open his door and looked back behind him. Through the dust and smoke he saw several twisted bodies. To one side was a boy, flat on the ground but trying to rise. Neighbors were pouring out of their homes. Bill shouted to them to call an ambulance.

Valerie and Brianna, Patricia and Karen had been killed instantly. Billy had seen the car coming and dove out of the way, suffering just a broken hand. Valerie’s husband and Patricia’s husband found out about the accident the hard way – with a phone call.

Bill’s blood alcohol level was 0.15%. He was charged with four counts of manslaughter and two counts of causing an accident while drunk. He faced 18 years. 

Bill pled not guilty but was convicted on all counts and sentenced to 11 years.

In the aftermath, the City of Glendale stepped up to strengthen the median with curbs and multiple guardrails while volunteers from the community funded a drive to beautify the site of the tragedy. A memorial garden, with elaborate plantings, was installed including four varieties of floribunda roses to represent the four victims. A granite stone bearing their names was placed there. At the one-year anniversary of the accident a huge crowd bearing pink and white balloons gathered at the new memorial garden to remember the two families. The balloons were printed with “Don’t drink and drive.”

I don’t know whatever happened to the widowed Mr. Carr or Mr. Cramer and son Billy. I don’t know how long the driver served or how his life turned out. I do remember a photo of the crash. On the rear bumper of the car was a sticker: “If you don’t like the way I drive, stay off the sidewalk.”