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Ricardo Lujan  February 12, 1969 - November 16, 2003

Heavy fog in Hill Country blamed for 2 wrecks, 5 dead
By Zeke MacCormack
San Antonio Express-News
Web Posted : 11/17/2003 12:00 AM

KERRVILLE — Dense fog in the Hill Country proved deadly Sunday morning as five motorists perished in two wrecks just 12 miles apart on Interstate 10.

Three El Paso men died about 4:30 a.m. when their Chrysler sedan hit a sign stanchion on I-10 in Comfort as they drove home from boxing bouts in San Antonio.

Poor visibility, excessive speed and wet roads were cited by the Department of Public Safety as factors in that crash, which killed driver Christopher Frietsch, 22, and passengers Ricardo Lujan, 34, and Anil K. Shirsat, 27.

Heavy fog also was blamed for a 7:40 a.m. accident in Kerr County that killed two Florida men whose big rig plunged into a ravine and flipped several times.

Frank L. Fernandez, 30, was at the wheel of the rig hauling vegetables when it grazed a truck parked on the I-10 shoulder.

Fernandez and Pedro Guelmes, 41, both of Hialeah, Fla., were pronounced dead at the scene near the 514 mile marker.

Low-lying clouds clung to the hills above Kerrville at noon as two wreckers slowly coaxed the rig's battered remnants up the rocky hillside littered with peppers, ginger, shards of fiberglass, and pools of oil and blood.

"It's been a while since we've had two multifatal accidents in two locations," said DPS Sgt. John Stafford, peering over the grim scene.

A dense fog advisory by the National Weather Service covered a swath of the region early Sunday, stretching from Burnet to Uvalde. After 1 a.m., visibility on I-10 was described as a few hundred feet.

Comfort resident Patricia Espinoza counted herself lucky to get home safely from a wedding in Fredericksburg about that time.

"I was scared," Espinoza, 17, recalled Sunday afternoon. "It was extremely foggy. I couldn't even see the little lines on the road."

Sgt. Stafford said trucker Moises Diaz of Florida had legally parked on the shoulder of I-10, and activated his truck's emergency flashers, just 10 minutes before being hit by Fernandez's truck.

"He parked there because he couldn't see because of the fog, and the rest area was full," Stafford said of Diaz. "Visibility was almost zero."

Officials theorized that the front right wheel of the doomed truck was punctured — sending it out of control — as it scraped along the length of Diaz's parked truck.

Because of the thick fog, the accident scene in Comfort wasn't located until 7 a.m. A Kendall County deputy answered the initial 911 call from someone who heard the crash at 4:29 a.m., officials said.

Todd Setliff, with the Department of Public Safety, said the delay likely didn't affect the chances of survival for the three men.

"They appeared to have died on impact," Setliff said.

The car failed to negotiate a left curve on I-10, skidded into the median and hit the steel beam just 26 feet off the road at the 523 mile marker.

Setliff said the men apparently attended Saturday's professional boxing matches at the Alamodome. The mother of one victim described her son as a big boxing fan, he said, and boxing paraphernalia — including posters — were discovered at the crash site.

Boerne resident Bill Bates was stunned by the sight of the crash in Comfort he passed about 7:30 a.m.

"It cut the car completely in two," said Bates, 49.

zmaccormack@express-news.net
11/17/2003

26 Univision
Muere promotor paseño

Fecha: lunes 17 de noviembre del 2003
Escrito por: Luis Zúñiga
Editado por: Gaby Pérez

Fallece promotor paseño en un accidente vial de regreso a El Paso.

Lamentablemente, en la madrugada del domingo horas después de la pelea en San Antonio, un accidente provocado por la neblina, le quitó la vida al paseño, Ricardo Lujan y otras dos personas cuando venían de regreso a El Paso. Lujan, de 34 años de edad empezaba como promotor de boxeo en esta ciudad. Lujan había sido contratado por Golden Boy Promotions. Recientemente había presentado dos funciones amateurs en Tony Romas y Andale, dos restaurantes locales. No se sabe si hubo otros factores que influyeron en esta tragedia.

Accidents caused by dense fog kill five

By Glenda Taylor
The Kerrville Daily Times

Published November 18, 2003

Two separate accidents early Sunday morning, attributed to dense fog conditions and low visibility, resulted in the deaths of five I-10 travelers, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The first accident, involving only one vehicle, occurred at approximately 4:29 a.m. outside Comfort at mile marker 523, and killed three El Paso men. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the driver of the vehicle, Christopher Frietch, 22, along with two passengers, Ricardo Lujan, 34 and Anil Shirsat, 27 were pronounced dead at the scene.

The DPS reported that the vehicle, a 2000 Dodge four-door passenger car, was traveling westbound on I-10 when Frietch failed to negotiate a left curve, and ended up in the center median. Frietch attempted to regain control, and came back on the roadway, then partially drove off the outside lane onto the shoulder. Unable to regain full control of the vehicle, he crossed both lanes and entered the center median a second time, swerved in a clockwise direction, and struck the side of an overhead bridge.

A second accident occurred at 7:40 a.m. Sunday at mile marker 513 on I-10, six miles east of Kerrville, when a tractor trailer rig driven by Frank Fernandez, 30, of Hialeah, Fla., was heading westbound on I-10 and struck a second tractor trailer rig parked on the westbound shoulder of I-10.

Fernandez and a passenger, Pedro Guelmes, 41, also of Hialeah, Fla., were pronounced dead at the scene.

DPS investigators reported that Fernandez’s tractor trailer rig struck the parked rig, then ran off the paved portion of the highway, and entered the ravine, where it began to roll.

Fernandez’s rig came to rest approximately 300 feet off the roadway at the bottom of the ravine.

Due to the severe damage to the cab, both occupants of the rig had to be removed with the jaws of life by the Kerrville Fire Department.

The occupant of the parked tractor trailer rig, Moises Diaz of Opalaca, Fla., was uninjured. The DPS reported that Diaz was legally parked in the westbound shoulder of I-10 when the accident occurred.



Glenda Taylor may be reached at glenda.taylor@dailytimes.com.

-10 crash kills promoter, 2 others
Darren Hunt
El Paso Times

Three El Paso men, including a well-known local boxing promoter, were killed in a car accident early Sunday morning on Interstate 10 near Comfort, Texas, while returning from a boxing event in San Antonio.

The local boxing community is expected to flock to the funeral today for Ricardo Lujan, 34. Lujan is thought to have died instantly along with El Pasoans Christopher Frietsch, 22, and Anil Shirsat, 27, when their Chrysler sedan failed to negotiate a left curve at 4:29 a.m. in heavy fog and struck a steel beam that severed the car in two.

The men were returning from working the Marco Antonio Barrera-Manny Pacquaio fight for Home Box Office Sports at the Alamodome.

Lujan "had worked for HBO on several occasions," Texas fight coordinator Lester Bedford said Tuesday. "He'd just recently started working on some local promotions on his own. He wanted to create a venue for local fighters to be seen."

Lujan promoted a pair of amateur cards at the West Side Tony Roma's and Andale restaurants during the past three months. Bedford said Lujan hoped eventually to promote professionally.

"I've been involved in boxing since 1951, and (Lujan) was the most honest promoter I ever ran into," El Paso Golden Gloves President Jerry Wright said. "He was a religious kid, always smiling, even when he lost money. I really thought a lot of him."

Bedford said Frietsch and Shirsat were friends of Lujan, who worked as a production assistant last Thursday through Saturday for HBO Sports in San Antonio. Attempts to reach Frietsch's and Shirsat's families Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Services for Lujan are scheduled for 10 a.m. today at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church, 8600 Winchester.

Lujan "came to my attention here at HBO many years ago as an enthusiastic, good-looking kid willing to do anything to help out and be near a sport he admired and loved," HBO Sports Vice President John Micale said in a statement. "You could feel his excitement at any event when he was involved. And I always told him I expected great things from him. It was clear he had the talent, the creativity and the drive."

Department of Public Safety officials cited poor visibility, wet roads and excessive speed as causes for the accident. The National Weather Service had issued a dense fog advisory for the area early Sunday. Two Florida men were killed three hours later in an accident 12 miles away on I-10, when their tractor-trailer clipped a truck parked on the shoulder and flipped into a ditch.

The thick fog delayed locating the earlier accident until 7 a.m. DPS officials said all three men appeared to have died on impact.

"This is shocking to the whole boxing community in El Paso," Carolina Center Director Junior Vicencio said. Lujan "had worked throughout the country, but recently he got tired of all the travel and decided he wanted to work on his program for young fighters here. But unfortunately, it was short-lived."

Darren Hunt may be reached at dhunt@elpasotimes.com; 546-6168.

Boxeo.org
Falleció Ricardo Lujan
Ricardo Lujan, 34, quien trabajo con HBO y Golden Boy Promotions falleció el domingo por la mañana en un accidente de trafico al retornar de las peleas de la velada Barrera vs. Pacquiao en San Antonio a su hogar en El Paso. Por los últimos años, Lujan ha sido un regular en el mundo del boxeo en El Paso, como asistente en las producciones de HBO para ayudar a los amateurs y a los profesionales en El Paso. Lamentablemente, Lujan también estaba en el proceso de comenzar su propia compañía promocional de boxeo. Nuestras más sinceras condolencias a sus familiares y amigos. Los servicios fúnebres serán este miércoles a las 10 AM en la iglesia de “Our Lady of the Valley” en El Paso.
Posted Tuesday, November 18, 2003

Sports Thursday, November 20, 2003
Lujan's love of life, boxing always evident

Matthew Aguilar
El Paso Times

This was supposed to be a column about Saturday night's brilliant performance by Manny Pacquaio, and how boxing had an exciting new star. It was supposed to be about the bravery of Marco Antonio Barrera -- who was handed a severe beating but exited the ring with honor.

And it was supposed to be about a new pound-for-pound list, and how Pacquaio figured in.

But no.

After the news of Ricardo Lujan's death early Sunday morning, none of what went on between the ropes Saturday at the Alamodome seems to much matter.

It doesn't much matter at all.

Tragedy

Lujan, 34, was heading back to hometown El Paso from the Pacquaio-Barrera fight in San Antonio early Sunday when his car skidded into a median and hit a steel beam. Lujan, a passenger, died, along with the driver and another passenger. All three had been assisting HBO in its production of the fight.

As usual, Ricardo was there looking to help in any way he could. Afterwards, friends tried to convince him to stay the night in San Antonio rather than making the long trek back to El Paso in the middle of the night.

But, no, Ricardo had something to do. Some think he was trying to make it back in time for church.

It's fitting that, amid the horrific crash scene, police found boxing memorabilia. Ricardo Lujan lived for the sport. It grabbed hold and never let go.

He was a participant of the sweet science in almost every capacity: Fighter. Production assistant. Promoter. Trainer. Writer. Fan.

Boxing was his passion.

But there were many layers to Ricardo Lujan.

He was "Paydirt Pete" in his college years at UTEP. He was a regular parishioner at St. Raphael's Catholic Church. He loved to salsa dance. He trained fighters at Powerhouse Gym. He was an avid reader.

The night before a Nov. 7 fight card at the Don Haskins Center in which he aided coordinator Lester Bedford, most of the fight staff disappeared into the night -- more than ready to party.

Lujan had a Bible-study session with main event fighter Angel Manfredy.

He was as genuine as Oscar De La Hoya's left hook.

The next boxing card will be a difficult road to navigate. No Ricardo Lujan means no big smile. No big handshake. No big hug. No talk of boxing's latest upset.

Just one punch-sized void in the chest. And a multi-combination to the heart.

Role model

But if there is one blessing to come from this tragedy, it's that it has caused El Paso's sports community to pause. Pause to reconsider priorities. And try a little harder to be like the man himself.

Ricardo Lujan embodied all that was good about a human being. He was never bitter, never unkind, never angry and always respectful.

Maybe he was here to be an oh-so-temporary role model -- before moving on to the place he was destined for right from the opening bell.

As friend Bedford said at Wednesday's funeral, in life, Ricardo was the undisputed champ -- via unanimous decision.

So, as we grieve for Ricardo Lujan, let's also celebrate his life. It was full and robust. He had family and friends. And he died doing what he loved.

Giving to his passion -- boxing.

Matthew Aguilar may be reached at maguilar@elpasotimes.com; 546-6166.