Officer Fights for Life After Saving Partner

PALM SPRINGS — In the face of an oncoming car, a California Highway Patrol officer quickly shoved his partner to safety, only to be struck and critically injured himself early Thursday on a dark stretch of desert highway.

“If he hadn’t pushed me, I would have died,” said CHP Officer Donovan Rice of his partner, Saul Martinez. “I want the whole Southland to pray for him. When you see Saul in action, you see goodness at work.”

Fellow Officer Tami Loh said: “Saul operated out of pure instinct and put himself in the line of the oncoming vehicle. You have to know Saul to understand how everyone is affected by this. . . . He’s the epitome of all you could possibly be as a human being.”

Other law enforcement officers from throughout the Coachella Valley swarmed to the scene and lifted the vehicle off Martinez so paramedics could free and treat him. News of the crash came from the panic-stricken driver, who pleaded into the CHP radio for help.

Martinez, 39, was listed in critical condition Thursday night with head trauma, said a spokesman for Desert Hospital, where family and colleagues kept a prayerful vigil. The married officer--father of three children ages 14, 12 and 5--is a seven-year CHP veteran, a devoted school volunteer and a popular champion of safe-driving campaigns within the Latino neighborhoods of his hometown of Indio.

The drama began about 1 a.m. Thursday when Martinez and Rice stopped to investigate a car parked along Dillon Road, a wide, empty highway in the desert north of Palm Springs.

The 18-year-old driver of the vehicle, it turned out, was sitting in the car after dropping off a friend. Because the vehicle’s license sticker was expired, Martinez and Rice began walking back to their CHP cruiser to get their ticket book.

From behind them in the desert night, a car was barreling down on the officers, traveling along the shoulder of the highway, more than 15 feet off the roadway, investigators said.

“I heard the sound of crunching gravel and Saul yelled, ‘Run!’ But at that point, everything went into slow motion for me, and Saul pushed me--slammed me--out of the way,” Rice said.

“When I hit the ground, I looked up and I saw the headlights and I knew I was going to die,” Rice said. But the oncoming car hit the parked vehicle and in the twisting, spinning crash, Rice was struck on the leg.

In pushing Rice free, Martinez hadn’t allowed himself time to jump clear.

“I started screaming and hollering for Saul, and I didn’t hear him,” Rice said. “I knew it was bad. I thought he might be dead. I was crying uncontrollably.”

Martinez was run over by the car, dragged about 15 feet and pinned beneath it.

Rice, who couldn’t stand up, ordered the driver, identified by the CHP as Joseph La Pagila, 63, to use his CHP radio to call for help. A CHP dispatcher in Indio heard an unfamiliar voice calling out, “Hello? Hello!” La Pagila reported that he had run over an officer, said CHP Sgt. Bill Dato.

Within moments, a Riverside County deputy sheriff arrived, checked Martinez--still trapped beneath the vehicle--for vital signs and felt no pulse. The next call then went out on the radio--”11-44,” meaning an officer was dead.

Local police, sheriff’s deputies and CHP officers from miles around converged on the scene and heaved La Pagila’s car off Martinez so paramedics could pull him out and treat him.

By 3 a.m., the lobby of Desert Hospital in Palm Springs was filled with members of Martinez’s extended family as well as other officers, braced for the worst possible news.

When a surgeon met with the family and expressed guarded hope, Martinez’s 14-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, led the group in praying the rosary.

“The moment we all gathered here, I could feel the presence of faith, belief and hope, because that’s the way the family lives,” said Father Joseph Distenfano, a priest at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Indio, which the family attends.

La Pagila was initially cited by the CHP for suspected driving under the influence, but was later released pending the crash investigation, Loh said.

Rice was treated for minor leg injuries and released from the hospital.

Rice--who had recently become Martinez’s partner--said the two enjoyed teasing each other and that he learned to respect Martinez’s devotion to family.

“I’m fixin’ to get married in August, and I had just told Saul the night before that my wedding is going to be very private, and that he was one of the few people who I wanted to be there,” Rice said. “He’s a prince and a gentleman--and his family always comes first.”

Such remarks were echoed all around Indio on Thursday, where Martinez is a fixture at his three children’s schools.

“It’s just natural for him to reach out, to be with kids,” said Nancy Hill, principal of Jackson Elementary School. Martinez praises the virtues of law enforcement work during “career day” appearances, she said.

At Wilson Junior High, Martinez attends parent advisory meetings chaired by his wife, Remedios, said principal Harry Munoz. Last Friday, he took pictures for the school at the annual spring festival.

Martinez also meets with Latino groups in various community forums to discuss safe driving habits, Rice said. “You see people out here wearing seat belts, and you see less drunk driving, and that’s because of Saul,” Rice said.

And last month, Martinez spoke at an annual community conference, sponsored by the school district, to offer advice on parenting skills. His topic: how to steer kids clear of gangs.

“He’s one of our strongest advocates and supporters of parent-training programs,” said Kathy Felci of the Desert Sands Unified School District.

She said she wasn’t surprised by Martinez’s actions Thursday to save his partner’s life.

“It is so much like Saul to do something like that,” Felci said. “It is so characteristic of him. He’s a gentleman, a pillar of strength.”

Gorman, a Times staff writer, reported from Riverside, and Marcum, a Times correspondent, reported from Palm Springs and Indio.