Point Reyes Light - July 17, 2003

Bolinas man to be taken off life support

By Victoria Schlesinger

A 48-year-old Bolinas resident found near death the morning after the town’s raucous Independence Day activities remained in a coma this week at John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek.

Candido Garcia is scheduled to soon be taken off a life-support system, and doctors have told family members he will probably die when that happens.

The native of Guatemala has a wife and five children living at home in Coatepeque near the Mexican border, and the wife, who has herself been hospitalized with heart problems, does not yet know about her husband’s situation, friends of the family told The Light.

Bolinas resident Mary Bromwell, with the help of attorney Sam McCallagh of Bolinas, is establishing an annuity fund to support Garcia’s wife and children in Guatemala for 15 years.

At the end of that time, Garcia’s youngest child, who is now two years old, will be an adult. The size of annuity payments will depend on the amount donated by the community.

Garcia was found face down in bushes near the town’s tennis courts July 5. He had suffered severe injuries to his head, face, and torso that left him almost unrecognizable. Medics said he had almost no blood pressure.

Sheriff’s investigator Brian Fay on Monday told The Light that deputies still do not know if Garcia’s injuries were caused by a bad fall or a beating.

"We haven’t received any information from a first-hand source. Those who know what happened aren’t coming forward," Fay said. "Someone had to have seen him between Thursday and Saturday [and] could help establish a time frame."

Garcia was last seen in good health Wednesday, July 2, in downtown Bolinas. Thursday morning his bicycle was found in the community park near the bushes where his body would be discovered two days later.

Garcia sustained fractures to his nose and the bones around his right eye but no skull fractures despite the swelling of his brain. Doctors have been unable to determine the cause of the brain injury but believe it will prove fatal.

However, other facial swelling that initially made the victim difficult to identify and suggested he may have been beaten have now been attributed to a bad rash, possibly caused by poison oak.

While Garcia never gained consciousness in the hospital, he initially showed limited brain activity in responses to familiar voices. Over time, however, his responses steadily decreased.

A county medical services program is currently paying for Garcia’s medical expenses.

As for his family in Guatemala, attorney McCallagh said they will benefit from an annuity fund because "donors can be sure the terms of the agreement, once established, won’t change. The family will receive a designated amount of money on the first of every month for the term of the annuity."

Those interested in donating to the family’s annuity can contact Bromwell at 868-1412 or make deposits directly into a fund at the Bank of Petaluma.

Meanwhile, investigator Fay said that initial reports that Garcia was covered with a blanket when found are inaccurate. Medics placed the blanket over him, Fay said.

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