Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Marking a life-


Marking a life-
Originally uploaded by mquest foto.
I drive by this cross often and decided to pull over to get a closer look. I know nothing about this person or their death.
It has been a while since anyone put up flowers to mark his road side cross.
Sharan Ernst's cross hopefully reminds all that pass by to slow down and take it easy. However, I drive this road often enough to know that this cross has no effect on the driving habits of those that drive by. Google has no mention of the fate of Sharan Ernest so I will continue to drive by and ponder his life and his rarely changed flowers.

3 comments:

Doug Mason said...

I have been doing the same as you. Today, in fact, I was slowing down to a truly reasonable speed to see if I could catch the last name correctly, with the left lane wide open for anyone to pass me, but no... an SUV with an angry looking driver (who had been tailgating me since leaving Barnes & Noble) flashed the lights at me (at noon, mind you...) and refused to slip into the left to pass me up so they could continue on their way, driving nearly 60mph in an area that does not call for it.

If I find anything on who this person was, I will let you know. There are flowers there now, as well as an aluminum balloon. Someone still cares.

doug mason

Doug Mason said...

I found the answer, different than I thought... from the Register in 1996...

A TRAGEDY RECALLED
Three died when plane crashed into Fullerton apartments one year ago
The Orange County Register
November 21, 1996
Author: Barbara Giasone: Fullerton News Tribune
Estimated printed pages: 3

An eerie feeling gripped Robert Corbin as he opened the sales brochure. Smack in the middle of the renter's insurance pitch was an illustration of a house with an airplane sinking into the roof.

Corbin flashed back instantly to the morning of Nov. 20, 1995.

That's when he and two roommates escaped the fiery crash of a Piper Cherokee that plummeted into their apartment building at 1811 W. Malvern Ave. The incident left the pilot, Leslie Arehart, 47, his passenger Michael Benson, 40, and adjoining apartment renter Sharan Ernst, 43, dead.

Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board ruled in September that Arehart failed to follow federal aviation rules for instrument landings. In his haste to get to work, he flew below the minimum descent altitude.

Last week, Corbin and his roommates, Alan White and Ed Borgelt, returned to the scene for the first time, reconstructing the fateful day that would change their lives forever.

"I guess we figured our greatest risk at that condo would be theft, so we never got renter's insurance," White said. "We thought insurance was for TVs and stereos, never dreaming we would need it for a plane crash."

The trio edged closer to the front of their former home, struck by its fresh paint and sterile appearance.

MARKS REMAIN

"Oh, there are still scorch marks on the back wall and scars on the palms," Borgelt said. "But overall, they've done a pretty nice job of redoing everything."

Everything, that is, except payment for the men's personal losses, which they figure total more than $60,000. Corbin said an insurance company agreed to rebuild the three-bedroom structure before receiving a dime.

Corbin's attorney, Alan D. Block, said the problems stem from the pilot's insurance company, North American Specialty of New Hampshire. After meeting with nine attorneys representing claimants, Block said North American is suing "everyone involved on the ground" to release themselves from responsibility.

"Basically it comes down to license restrictions on the pilots and an altimeter that allegedly had not been checked," Block said. "The insurance company feels it only needs to pay the pilots' heirs."

CONFERENCE SLATED

An evaluation conference among the attorneys is set for Dec. 20 in Superior Court in Santa Ana.

"When all this happened, they said they would settle within a month," Borgelt recalled. "But then we never heard anything more until the lawsuit was filed.

As the memories filtered back, the men entered the apartment, remembering the cold November morning.

Corbin said he was asleep, Borgelt was showering and White had just gotten out of bed as the 2,000-pound aircraft raced toward the building.

"I heard a few bangs, and Al heard the propeller, then the impact. We rushed to help the Ernst family, but were driven back by the heat," said Corbin, who remembered coming down stairs with a ball of fire at his feet.

RESCUE ATTEMPTED

Ron Ernst was making coffee while his wife, Sharan, slept in an upstairs bedroom at 1813 W. Malvern Ave. The couple's son Jeremy, 21, and Ron fervently tried to rescue Sharan, but flames and exploding glass pushed them back. Later, Fullerton Fire Department Batallion Chief Larry Greene said gasoline in the plane fueled flames that reached 2,000 degrees.

Sharan, the mother of four and grandmother of two, died in the bedroom.

Son-in-law Frank Poyner, a firefighter in the Air Force at the time of the accident, was allowed to return to be with his wife, Melissa Ernst, and their two children. Last week, the Poyner family moved back to the Fullerton area so he can look for firefighter work. He said his wife plans to return to Fullerton College Cosmetology classes in January; other members of the family moved to Placentia.

THANKFUL FAMILY

"We're sad someone took down the sign across from the apartment that served as a memorial for Sharan," Poyner said Monday. "But we're thankful to so many people who helped the family."

As the roommates continued their house and yard tour, White poked through the grassy areas and spotted a small bottle.

"I vaguely remembered seeing that bottle the morning of the fire," White said. Untwisting the cap, he took a quick sniff, and pronounced Classic Match his fragrance.

Corbin, giving the refurbished living room a final glance, told his buddies, "This is so much nicer now. If it weren't in the flight pattern, I think I would definitely come back. I really liked Fullerton."
Caption:
BLACK & WHITE PHOTO

Caption: WHERE DISASTER STRUCK. Robert Corbin Ed Borgelt and Alan White (from left) were residents when a plane crashed at this exact spot a year ago

Credit: Stan Bird
Edition: Fullerton
Section: COMMUNITY
Page: 1

Index Terms: OC; AVIATION; DISASTERS; LAWSUITS; DEATH
Copyright 1996 The Orange County Register
Record Number: OCR715850

Unknown said...

Thanks. I would never guessed. I would of thought a jaywalker- A lot of people like to park on that side of the street and run accross. I know a bit further down the street is a location where cars like to fall into the flood area.