‘I Wish It Was Me,’ Driver Says of Child Who Died After Crash

LAGUNA NIGUEL — Shannon Fertal said she told the boys to buckle their seat belts. But that was before the crash. Before Tommy Weiss, one of her son’s new friends, suffered fatal injuries when he wasn’t wearing a safety belt.

Fertal paused Friday and said tearfully: “I wish it was me” who had died instead.

The string of events that led to Weiss’ death began last Saturday afternoon, she said, when her 10-year-old son, Patrick, decided to skateboard to a local supermarket with 11-year-old Weiss, a neighborhood friend and fellow fourth-grader. Fertal said she vetoed the idea as unsafe because of the steep hill running down to the market.

Instead, she said, she ushered the kids into her car. Telling them to buckle up was standard procedure, Fertal said Friday, “as it should be for any parent.”

But when Orange County rescue crews pulled three unconscious bodies out of Fertal’s car, investigators said no one was wearing a seat belt. Fertal said Friday she released her seat belt as she tried to escape after the crash. She said she can only guess that the boys released their safety belts at some point during the brief trip--without her permission.

California law requires the wearing of seat belts. Fertal has not been cited, and an investigation into the incident is continuing, sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Ron Wilkerson said.

Fertal said the crash took place when another car swerved in front of her vehicle.

“That’s when I spun the car,” said Fertal, who said several people witnessed the incident. “The car went completely out of control.”

Days after being in a coma and undergoing brain surgery, Weiss died Thursday, officials said.

Fertal, 36, said she has yet to speak to Weiss’ parents, who could not be reached for comment Friday.

“It’s too soon, there’s too much grieving,” said Fertal, who said she also suffered four broken bones in her back, a concussion and other injuries. “I’m in tears every second of the day. Emotionally, I feel awful. Beyond awful. I can’t begin to tell you how it feels,” she later added.

If charges are filed against Fertal, it would be a rarity in Orange County, according to Assistant Dist. Atty. John D. Conley.

“I do not recall our having charged a parent for the death of a child because of lack of a seat belt, and I’ve been here 25 years,” Conley said.

Fertal said she spent the last week hoping for Weiss’ recovery.

“We just prayed,” she said. “We went to church and prayed constantly. All we did was pray for that boy.”

Fertal said she knows the damage will never be repaired.

“I will never get over this,” Fertal said quietly. “Never. It’s the worst thing imaginable.”

Times staff writer Greg Hernandez contributed to this report.