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A Sonora man killed last week in a traffic collision near Moaning Cavern in Vallecito was remembered this weekend by family and friends, who described him as something of a “renaissance man.” Michael Ray Rogers, 20, was the back seat passenger in a 1993 Honda Civic that crashed head-on into a Ford F350 pickup truck Thursday evening on Parrotts Ferry Road south of Moaning Cave Road.
California Highway Patrol said the Honda’s driver, Andrew Martin Willis, 21, of Angels Camp, lost control around a curve going east and collided with the westbound pickup. Both Rogers and Willis suffered major injuries and were flown by helicopter to Oak Valley Hospital in Oakdale and Doctors Medical Center of Modesto, respectively. Rogers died from his injuries at the hospital hours after the crash was first reported about 5:20 p.m. Willis was listed in “fair condition” at the Modesto hospital Friday afternoon. Marcus A. Phillips, 20, of Murphys, was the front passenger in the Honda. He suffered minor injuries but declined medical treatment at the scene, CHP reported. Phillips broke the news of Rogers’ death to the man’s friends and family about 10 p.m. that night, said Rogers’ girlfriend of more than a year, Ria Rice-Lawson. “We all found out about the same time,” she said. Rice-Lawson said Rogers was in Douglas Flat for several days staying with friends and was on his way back to Sonora, where he worked as a salesman at Big 5 Sporting Goods on Sanguinetti Road and was enrolled at Columbia College. Rogers had a dollar on him for a public transit ticket home, but chose to get a ride from his friend Willis instead, according to Rice-Lawson, because he was being very careful about saving money so they could get their own place. Rogers was born in San Andreas and graduated from Bret Harte High School. His mother, Tabbatha Hix, manages Big Horn Mobile Home Park in Angels Camp with her husband, Mark Hix. Rogers was on the high school’s track and field team as well as the cross-country team. His other interests included art, science, politics and music, which Tabbatha Hix said he picked up from his biological father, E.J. Rogers. He played piano and guitar and was a member of a band, Tyrannus Forte, with other friends. Mark Hix said his step-son desired independence. Rogers met Rice-Lawson a year-and-a-half ago while working as a cashier at Bear Valley Ski Resort. Family members said he had become more focused and cheerful over the past year. “He changed very quickly from the time I met him,” Rice-Lawson said. Rogers also leaves behind eight siblings including half-brother Chance Fidler, who said he will miss chatting about science and politics with his brother. “He was the one I looked up to as a kid,” Fidler said. The family has been in recent contact with Kristi Ann Putt, 46, of Murphys, who was the driver of the pickup truck that collided with the Honda in which Rogers was riding.Tabbatha Hix said Putt told her she held her boy’s hand and prayed while waiting for emergency responders to arrive. “That says a lot of a person after that horrific of an event, to jump out of her car and be with the two boys like that,” Mark Hix said. CHP said Putt received moderate injuries as a result of the collision and was taken to Sonora Regional Medical Center for treatment. Officers are still investigating what caused Willis to lose control of the vehicle, but CHP said alcohol is not believed to have been a factor. The dead man’s mother didn’t know Willis very well, but said she holds nothing against him. “I know he didn’t mean to do it,” Hix said. Family members are making memorial preparations. A car wash and bake sale fundraiser to help the family cover funeral costs is being held May 5 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Altaville Market in Angels Camp. Another fundraiser is being planned in Stockton for sometime in the near future |