‘Our lives changed completely.’ Hanford mourns one teen killed in crash, another injured
Hanford West softball player Marissa Cardona is being remembered as a person who cared for her teammates and “loved and breathed softball.”
The freshman was killed in a two-vehicle car crash Saturday morning between the towns of Riverdale and Laton when the California Highway Patrol reported that a 2020 Lexus sedan driven by 35-year-old Ashley Engen of Hanford was heading north on Cedar Street and ran a stop sign at Mt. Whitney Avenue, colliding into the path of a 2016 Honda Accord that was westbound on Mt. Whitney. The Honda driver was identified by the CHP as Leticia Cardona, 40, of Laton.
Marissa Cardona was pronounced dead at the scene.
Both drivers had major injuries and Engen’s 15-year-old daughter, whose name has not been released by authorities, suffered what officers described as life-threatening injuries and was airlifted by helicopter to Community Regional Medical Center.
The 15-year-old is a sophomore at Sierra Pacific in Hanford and on the swim team. Athletic director Pay Snyder said she was headed to a swim meet in Clovis the day of the crash. She is critical but stable, Snyder said Tuesday.
The Hanford West softball team was also headed to Clovis for a game at 8:30 a.m. at the Buchanan tournament. Huskies coach Frank Hernandez said he knew something was off because Cardona would show up first to practices and games.
She wasn’t at Buchanan before her coaches and teammates.
“She wasn’t answering the girls’ phone calls or group messaging and realized something was wrong and couldn’t imagine that this would’ve been the outcome,” Hernandez said.
He said his players last heard from Cardona at 7:04 a.m She was “double checking what to wear because that was her,” Hernandez said.
“She would ask you at night or in the morning to be sure she had all her stuff ready, and that was the last message and she never showed up,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez said he learned about the crash from Cardona’s father, who had remained in Hanford for Little League opening ceremonies.
After arriving at the hospital, the coaches and players received the news that Cardona hadn’t survived her injuries.
“We woke up to go to a softball game and a few hours later, our lives changed completely,” Hernandez said.
Hanford West athletic director Angelo Macias said the news came as “a shock.”
“Heartbreaking,” Macias said, “and you just hate to see somebody that young pass away tragically.
“She’s a great athlete. (Sunday) we had a support staff for the girls and coaches here at the high school shared stories of how she would take on, for example, picking up and carrying the bags after practice. She would take on stuff instead of saying, ‘No. I don’t want to do it’ and she would go ahead and do it. ... Unselfish person and went above and beyond just doing stuff around the softball field.”
Hanford West had a scheduled game at Corcoran on Monday, but the players went to the softball field and remembered their friend and teammate.
Hernandez cooked hamburgers for his players and helped by painting a “2’ on the field.
“They weren’t ready to hold a practice,” Hernandez said. “The best thing was to come out there and sit down and let them talk about whatever they wanted to talk about. Sit down and watch the sunset.”
Hernandez said there will be a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the softball field. The team will host Sunnyside at 3:30 p.m. Thursday. Donations will be taken to help the Cardona family.
Sierra Pacific will also honor Cardona and the injured swimmer during its swim meet against Lindsay at 4 pm. Thursday.
How to help
Tilted Athletic Facility in Hanford is planning a fundraiser Thursday and “asking our gym community and athletic community to come together to help out the Cardona family!”
The drive-thru dinner will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and tickets can be pre-purchased through Venmo at Frank Hernandez-559.
Tilted is also accepting monetary donations for the Cardona family as well as taking donations for a raffle that will be held for the family.
Hernandez said he’ll never forget Cardona.
“She was an outstanding teammate,” he said. “A great kid. We hold three-hour practices here at Hanford West. Once she leaves here, I go to our hitting facility at Tilted and I see her in the batting cage with her dad and they’re hitting. After she left here, she always had a smile. Every time when she stepped on the softball field, she gave 100 percent. Most importantly, she was an amazing teammate.”
Hanford Joint Union High School District said Monday officials increased social-emotional resources and support for students and staff at both Hanford West and Sierra Pacific.
“As a district, we are devastated by the loss of Marissa. The loss of any student, especially one so young is heartbreaking to our entire student body and community,” the district said in a statement. “This coupled with the fact that the student in the other vehicle involved was also a district student at Sierra Pacific with a long road to recovery herself makes the entire tragedy even more difficult for our community.”
