With two daughters dead, a father waited for his baby grandson's organs to be harvested
By Christina Jewett -- Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:01 am PDT Friday, June 23, 2006
Story appeared in Metro section, Page B1 Sacramento Bee Codie Eaton, pictured, and her sister Anna died in the crash; Codie's son, Caden, was put on life support.The father of two young women who died Wednesday evening in a crash near Lincoln spent Thursday in a hospital room surrounded by family, awaiting news of a third death.Jim Eaton sat in shock as doctors at UC Davis Medical Center worked to donate the organs of his grandson, who was left brain-dead as a result of the collision.As the afternoon stretched on, a witness to the crash, who had driven 30 miles to find the family in the hospital, described what she saw and shared her condolences."I can't imagine going on without them," Jim Eaton told the woman. The driver and mother of the infant, Codie Eaton, 21, died after CPR attempts and after speaking softly of her baby. Adrianna Eaton, 16, died on impact, leaving behind a twin.Caden Eaton, 6 months old, was on life support Thursday as physicians determined if his kidneys matched a baby in Santa Rosa who needed them, family members said.The driver of the other vehicle in the crash, Manuel Acosta, 48, of Roseville, was released Thursday from Sutter Roseville Medical Center.The crash occurred just before 5 p.m., when Codie Eaton, heading north on Brewer Road, ran a stop sign, California Highway Patrol officials said.Acosta, driving west on Moore Road, had only an instant to hit his brakes and could not avoid hitting Eaton's Ford Focus, CHP spokeswoman Kelly Baraga said.Codie Eaton had been a licensed driver since she was 18, Baraga said, suggesting driver inexperience was a factor in the crash."Why they ran the stop (sign), I don't know if she was not familiar with the area or not paying attention," Baraga said. "It's a tragic event … the type of mistake that can have grave consequences."The consequences were heavy for the Eaton family. Efforts to reach Acosta and his family were unsuccessful.Eaton and his wife, Eva, were at the hospital hours after the crash and until dawn Thursday.Upon returning to their Plumas Lake home, Jim Eaton said his wife was ill with grief.She stayed home Thursday afternoon, surrounded by boxes from the family's recent move from North Highlands."You don't want to go on," Jim Eaton said in the waiting room of the children's intensive care unit.The Eatons adopted six children, one of whom had muscular dystrophy and died at 13 a decade ago.Eaton said he and his wife adopted Adrianna, who went by Anna, when she was 18 months old.More than half her body was covered in burns inflicted from child abuse from her natural mother.Two years ago, the teen had surgery to correct most of the scarring, Jim Eaton said."She never tried to hide her scars; she wasn't embarrassed," he said.Anna Eaton, who loved soccer and avoided confrontation, was close with her older sister.Jim Eaton said Codie Eaton was spontaneous, loved to be in the center of action and hoped to become a sheriff's deputy. She had troubles in her late teen years, he said, but matured dramatically after the birth of her son."She took the baby everywhere she went," Jim said."She loved that baby more than everything."The family sat in the waiting room as news on a small television blared reports of Iraq and Los Angeles.Not long after 2 p.m., a woman stepped off the elevator -- looking for the family of the baby airlifted from the Lincoln area Wednesday.She said she lives a quarter-mile from the crash scene and went there moments after hearing the impact.The woman gave her name and number to the family but declined to give her name to The Bee, saying she didn't want to be further involved.The woman described the scene to Eaton and other family members.She said the car came to rest against a fence next to an olive orchard. In the crumpled car, the passenger, Anna, was dead.The driver, Codie Eaton, slipped in and out of consciousness, speaking quietly:"My baby, my baby, I've got a baby."The woman said a local ranch hand took the car seat and baby out of the car. The woman took turns with another witness giving CPR to the baby, all the while praying that he lives and leads a happy life."Thank you for what you did," Jim Eaton said to the woman.She asked how the baby was doing.Eaton replied: "We're waiting to hear from the organ transplant team."Tears slid down the the cheeks of the sisters' aunt, Viola Spence, and grandmother Eva Eve, sitting next to Jim Eaton.After the woman left, the family was grim."That makes it a little bit worse," Jim Eaton said."I didn't know Codie was still alive."CHP officials confirmed that the passenger died on impact and the driver died in an ambulance.Hospital officials pronounced the baby dead at 4 p.m. Thursday.
By Christina Jewett -- Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:01 am PDT Friday, June 23, 2006
Story appeared in Metro section, Page B1 Sacramento Bee Codie Eaton, pictured, and her sister Anna died in the crash; Codie's son, Caden, was put on life support.The father of two young women who died Wednesday evening in a crash near Lincoln spent Thursday in a hospital room surrounded by family, awaiting news of a third death.Jim Eaton sat in shock as doctors at UC Davis Medical Center worked to donate the organs of his grandson, who was left brain-dead as a result of the collision.As the afternoon stretched on, a witness to the crash, who had driven 30 miles to find the family in the hospital, described what she saw and shared her condolences."I can't imagine going on without them," Jim Eaton told the woman. The driver and mother of the infant, Codie Eaton, 21, died after CPR attempts and after speaking softly of her baby. Adrianna Eaton, 16, died on impact, leaving behind a twin.Caden Eaton, 6 months old, was on life support Thursday as physicians determined if his kidneys matched a baby in Santa Rosa who needed them, family members said.The driver of the other vehicle in the crash, Manuel Acosta, 48, of Roseville, was released Thursday from Sutter Roseville Medical Center.The crash occurred just before 5 p.m., when Codie Eaton, heading north on Brewer Road, ran a stop sign, California Highway Patrol officials said.Acosta, driving west on Moore Road, had only an instant to hit his brakes and could not avoid hitting Eaton's Ford Focus, CHP spokeswoman Kelly Baraga said.Codie Eaton had been a licensed driver since she was 18, Baraga said, suggesting driver inexperience was a factor in the crash."Why they ran the stop (sign), I don't know if she was not familiar with the area or not paying attention," Baraga said. "It's a tragic event … the type of mistake that can have grave consequences."The consequences were heavy for the Eaton family. Efforts to reach Acosta and his family were unsuccessful.Eaton and his wife, Eva, were at the hospital hours after the crash and until dawn Thursday.Upon returning to their Plumas Lake home, Jim Eaton said his wife was ill with grief.She stayed home Thursday afternoon, surrounded by boxes from the family's recent move from North Highlands."You don't want to go on," Jim Eaton said in the waiting room of the children's intensive care unit.The Eatons adopted six children, one of whom had muscular dystrophy and died at 13 a decade ago.Eaton said he and his wife adopted Adrianna, who went by Anna, when she was 18 months old.More than half her body was covered in burns inflicted from child abuse from her natural mother.Two years ago, the teen had surgery to correct most of the scarring, Jim Eaton said."She never tried to hide her scars; she wasn't embarrassed," he said.Anna Eaton, who loved soccer and avoided confrontation, was close with her older sister.Jim Eaton said Codie Eaton was spontaneous, loved to be in the center of action and hoped to become a sheriff's deputy. She had troubles in her late teen years, he said, but matured dramatically after the birth of her son."She took the baby everywhere she went," Jim said."She loved that baby more than everything."The family sat in the waiting room as news on a small television blared reports of Iraq and Los Angeles.Not long after 2 p.m., a woman stepped off the elevator -- looking for the family of the baby airlifted from the Lincoln area Wednesday.She said she lives a quarter-mile from the crash scene and went there moments after hearing the impact.The woman gave her name and number to the family but declined to give her name to The Bee, saying she didn't want to be further involved.The woman described the scene to Eaton and other family members.She said the car came to rest against a fence next to an olive orchard. In the crumpled car, the passenger, Anna, was dead.The driver, Codie Eaton, slipped in and out of consciousness, speaking quietly:"My baby, my baby, I've got a baby."The woman said a local ranch hand took the car seat and baby out of the car. The woman took turns with another witness giving CPR to the baby, all the while praying that he lives and leads a happy life."Thank you for what you did," Jim Eaton said to the woman.She asked how the baby was doing.Eaton replied: "We're waiting to hear from the organ transplant team."Tears slid down the the cheeks of the sisters' aunt, Viola Spence, and grandmother Eva Eve, sitting next to Jim Eaton.After the woman left, the family was grim."That makes it a little bit worse," Jim Eaton said."I didn't know Codie was still alive."CHP officials confirmed that the passenger died on impact and the driver died in an ambulance.Hospital officials pronounced the baby dead at 4 p.m. Thursday.
With two daughters dead, a father waited for his baby grandson's organs to be harvested
By Christina Jewett -- Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:01 am PDT Friday, June 23, 2006
Story appeared in Metro section, Page B1 Sacramento Bee Codie Eaton, pictured, and her sister Anna died in the crash; Codie's son, Caden, was put on life support.The father of two young women who died Wednesday evening in a crash near Lincoln spent Thursday in a hospital room surrounded by family, awaiting news of a third death.Jim Eaton sat in shock as doctors at UC Davis Medical Center worked to donate the organs of his grandson, who was left brain-dead as a result of the collision.As the afternoon stretched on, a witness to the crash, who had driven 30 miles to find the family in the hospital, described what she saw and shared her condolences."I can't imagine going on without them," Jim Eaton told the woman. The driver and mother of the infant, Codie Eaton, 21, died after CPR attempts and after speaking softly of her baby. Adrianna Eaton, 16, died on impact, leaving behind a twin.Caden Eaton, 6 months old, was on life support Thursday as physicians determined if his kidneys matched a baby in Santa Rosa who needed them, family members said.The driver of the other vehicle in the crash, Manuel Acosta, 48, of Roseville, was released Thursday from Sutter Roseville Medical Center.The crash occurred just before 5 p.m., when Codie Eaton, heading north on Brewer Road, ran a stop sign, California Highway Patrol officials said.Acosta, driving west on Moore Road, had only an instant to hit his brakes and could not avoid hitting Eaton's Ford Focus, CHP spokeswoman Kelly Baraga said.Codie Eaton had been a licensed driver since she was 18, Baraga said, suggesting driver inexperience was a factor in the crash."Why they ran the stop (sign), I don't know if she was not familiar with the area or not paying attention," Baraga said. "It's a tragic event … the type of mistake that can have grave consequences."The consequences were heavy for the Eaton family. Efforts to reach Acosta and his family were unsuccessful.Eaton and his wife, Eva, were at the hospital hours after the crash and until dawn Thursday.Upon returning to their Plumas Lake home, Jim Eaton said his wife was ill with grief.She stayed home Thursday afternoon, surrounded by boxes from the family's recent move from North Highlands."You don't want to go on," Jim Eaton said in the waiting room of the children's intensive care unit.The Eatons adopted six children, one of whom had muscular dystrophy and died at 13 a decade ago.Eaton said he and his wife adopted Adrianna, who went by Anna, when she was 18 months old.More than half her body was covered in burns inflicted from child abuse from her natural mother.Two years ago, the teen had surgery to correct most of the scarring, Jim Eaton said."She never tried to hide her scars; she wasn't embarrassed," he said.Anna Eaton, who loved soccer and avoided confrontation, was close with her older sister.Jim Eaton said Codie Eaton was spontaneous, loved to be in the center of action and hoped to become a sheriff's deputy. She had troubles in her late teen years, he said, but matured dramatically after the birth of her son."She took the baby everywhere she went," Jim said."She loved that baby more than everything."The family sat in the waiting room as news on a small television blared reports of Iraq and Los Angeles.Not long after 2 p.m., a woman stepped off the elevator -- looking for the family of the baby airlifted from the Lincoln area Wednesday.She said she lives a quarter-mile from the crash scene and went there moments after hearing the impact.The woman gave her name and number to the family but declined to give her name to The Bee, saying she didn't want to be further involved.The woman described the scene to Eaton and other family members.She said the car came to rest against a fence next to an olive orchard. In the crumpled car, the passenger, Anna, was dead.The driver, Codie Eaton, slipped in and out of consciousness, speaking quietly:"My baby, my baby, I've got a baby."The woman said a local ranch hand took the car seat and baby out of the car. The woman took turns with another witness giving CPR to the baby, all the while praying that he lives and leads a happy life."Thank you for what you did," Jim Eaton said to the woman.She asked how the baby was doing.Eaton replied: "We're waiting to hear from the organ transplant team."Tears slid down the the cheeks of the sisters' aunt, Viola Spence, and grandmother Eva Eve, sitting next to Jim Eaton.After the woman left, the family was grim."That makes it a little bit worse," Jim Eaton said."I didn't know Codie was still alive."CHP officials confirmed that the passenger died on impact and the driver died in an ambulance.Hospital officials pronounced the baby dead at 4 p.m. Thursday.
By Christina Jewett -- Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:01 am PDT Friday, June 23, 2006
Story appeared in Metro section, Page B1 Sacramento Bee Codie Eaton, pictured, and her sister Anna died in the crash; Codie's son, Caden, was put on life support.The father of two young women who died Wednesday evening in a crash near Lincoln spent Thursday in a hospital room surrounded by family, awaiting news of a third death.Jim Eaton sat in shock as doctors at UC Davis Medical Center worked to donate the organs of his grandson, who was left brain-dead as a result of the collision.As the afternoon stretched on, a witness to the crash, who had driven 30 miles to find the family in the hospital, described what she saw and shared her condolences."I can't imagine going on without them," Jim Eaton told the woman. The driver and mother of the infant, Codie Eaton, 21, died after CPR attempts and after speaking softly of her baby. Adrianna Eaton, 16, died on impact, leaving behind a twin.Caden Eaton, 6 months old, was on life support Thursday as physicians determined if his kidneys matched a baby in Santa Rosa who needed them, family members said.The driver of the other vehicle in the crash, Manuel Acosta, 48, of Roseville, was released Thursday from Sutter Roseville Medical Center.The crash occurred just before 5 p.m., when Codie Eaton, heading north on Brewer Road, ran a stop sign, California Highway Patrol officials said.Acosta, driving west on Moore Road, had only an instant to hit his brakes and could not avoid hitting Eaton's Ford Focus, CHP spokeswoman Kelly Baraga said.Codie Eaton had been a licensed driver since she was 18, Baraga said, suggesting driver inexperience was a factor in the crash."Why they ran the stop (sign), I don't know if she was not familiar with the area or not paying attention," Baraga said. "It's a tragic event … the type of mistake that can have grave consequences."The consequences were heavy for the Eaton family. Efforts to reach Acosta and his family were unsuccessful.Eaton and his wife, Eva, were at the hospital hours after the crash and until dawn Thursday.Upon returning to their Plumas Lake home, Jim Eaton said his wife was ill with grief.She stayed home Thursday afternoon, surrounded by boxes from the family's recent move from North Highlands."You don't want to go on," Jim Eaton said in the waiting room of the children's intensive care unit.The Eatons adopted six children, one of whom had muscular dystrophy and died at 13 a decade ago.Eaton said he and his wife adopted Adrianna, who went by Anna, when she was 18 months old.More than half her body was covered in burns inflicted from child abuse from her natural mother.Two years ago, the teen had surgery to correct most of the scarring, Jim Eaton said."She never tried to hide her scars; she wasn't embarrassed," he said.Anna Eaton, who loved soccer and avoided confrontation, was close with her older sister.Jim Eaton said Codie Eaton was spontaneous, loved to be in the center of action and hoped to become a sheriff's deputy. She had troubles in her late teen years, he said, but matured dramatically after the birth of her son."She took the baby everywhere she went," Jim said."She loved that baby more than everything."The family sat in the waiting room as news on a small television blared reports of Iraq and Los Angeles.Not long after 2 p.m., a woman stepped off the elevator -- looking for the family of the baby airlifted from the Lincoln area Wednesday.She said she lives a quarter-mile from the crash scene and went there moments after hearing the impact.The woman gave her name and number to the family but declined to give her name to The Bee, saying she didn't want to be further involved.The woman described the scene to Eaton and other family members.She said the car came to rest against a fence next to an olive orchard. In the crumpled car, the passenger, Anna, was dead.The driver, Codie Eaton, slipped in and out of consciousness, speaking quietly:"My baby, my baby, I've got a baby."The woman said a local ranch hand took the car seat and baby out of the car. The woman took turns with another witness giving CPR to the baby, all the while praying that he lives and leads a happy life."Thank you for what you did," Jim Eaton said to the woman.She asked how the baby was doing.Eaton replied: "We're waiting to hear from the organ transplant team."Tears slid down the the cheeks of the sisters' aunt, Viola Spence, and grandmother Eva Eve, sitting next to Jim Eaton.After the woman left, the family was grim."That makes it a little bit worse," Jim Eaton said."I didn't know Codie was still alive."CHP officials confirmed that the passenger died on impact and the driver died in an ambulance.Hospital officials pronounced the baby dead at 4 p.m. Thursday.
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