Vehicles plunged off San Joaquin River span in 1979; 3 were killed

Published online on Sunday, Jul. 26, 2009

Question: I remember that sometime in the 1970s two vehicles plunged off the San Joaquin River bridge on the same day. What are the details?

-- Karl Schoettler, Visalia

Answer: On July 25, 1979, a car and a semi plunged off the San Joaquin River bridge within an hour of each other. The accidents killed three people and injured four.

At about 3 p.m. that day, a northbound car driven by Alfonso L. Perales, 19, swerved and crashed through the bridge guardrail, plummeting 50 feet to the riverbed below.

Perales and a passenger, Henry E. Ruiz, 19, were taken to Saint Agnes Medical Center in fair condition. Two other passengers, Anthony Gonzales Jr., 27, and Raymond Contreres, 18, were killed.

California Highway Patrol officers, paramedics and reporters were in the riverbed about 3:55 p.m. when a southbound truck and trailer, driven by Neil Thompson, 31, of Amarillo, Texas, rear-ended a pickup slowed by the first accident, ripped out 50 feet of guardrail and plunged off the bridge.

Thompson's truck burst into flames, and paramedics and officers were unable to save him. The horrific crash was captured by photographers covering the first accident.

Two people in the pickup -- Clarence Bush, 18, and Marcellous Armstrong, 33, both of Fresno -- sustained moderate injuries.

Q: Did Cuyler Leonard compose the Fresno State fight song, and did he play trumpet in John Philip Sousa's band?

-- Norm Moglia, Madera

A: Cuyler Hershey Leonard composed the melody for then-Fresno State College's fight song, "Fight! Varsity!" and the lyrics were written by Chet Enos.

Leonard, a longtime band leader in Fresno, turned to composing music in 1933, when he was confined to bed for one year due to a heart ailment.

Leonard was born in Ohio in 1888. His younger brother, Hubert Benjamin "Dutch" Leonard, played for the Detroit Tigers and was one of four players accused of fixing a game in 1919. The brothers later owned a ranch and fruit packing business near Fresno.

Cuyler Leonard came to Fresno in 1901 and played football and baseball at Fresno High School, but music was a bigger part of his life.

Leonard played baritone horn, trombone, cornet and trumpet. For many years he led municipal bands in Fresno, Sanger and Hanford, and the band of a Fresno fraternal organization, the Sciots.

Two pieces Leonard wrote in 1933 -- "Skyrockets" and "Listen to the Drummers" -- attracted the attention of Herbert L. Clark, a former soloist with Sousa's band. However, Leonard is not listed on band rosters.

Leonard died in 1941 at age 53. His widow donated the fight song copyright to Fresno State, where the song is still played. Here are the lyrics:

"Fight! Varsity! On your toes, dig in and hit that line!

"We're all pulling hard for you, so fight and give the best there is in you.

"Fight! Varsity! On your toes, dig in and hit that line!

"We'll fight on to victory, we're always true to Fresno State!"

Additional information on Christen Jensen

After the question and answer about the naming of Jensen Avenue ran July 13, Alan Ware of Visalia, a great-grandson of Christen Jensen, wrote to share more history about Jensen and the house he built near Selma.

Christen Jensen was born in Jutland, Denmark, in 1847. As a young man, he was apprenticed to a carpenter.

Jensen and his fiancée, Dorthea Rassmussen, dreamed of emigrating to America. Jensen came to America first, got a job as a carpenter and saved the money to send for Dorthea. They were married in Chicago in 1880 and had seven children.

Wanting to be a farmer, Jensen moved the family to Selma in about 1901. He bought a 30-acre vineyard and built a two-story house at 8262 S. Bethel Ave.

Jensen built the first floor in the traditional Scandinavian "parstugor" or "paired room" design. The parlor, bedroom, sleeping porch, bathroom, kitchen and dining room are reached through other rooms instead of hallways. Upstairs are four large bedrooms with dormer windows.

The Jensens' daughter, Clara, married Henry Sorensen in 1916. Their daughter, Dorothy, was Ware's mother.

Jensen divided his property among his children in 1918. He died in 1933.

Clara inherited the house and vineyard. During the Depression, the Sorensens moved into the family home. "It was the only place they could afford to live," Ware wrote.

Clara Sorensen lived there until her death in 1987. The house -- listed on the National Register of Historic Places -- and the vineyard were bought by a neighboring farmer, Ware said.