Lodi family struggling in aftermath of fiery crash

Members of the Tate family sit in the living room of Rodney Tate Sr. in Lodi on Wednesday. Rodney and his wife both suffered serious burns in a car accident in September. (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel)

Lodi family struggling in aftermath of fiery crash

By Layla Bohm
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Monday, December 1, 2008 6:19 AM PST

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Rodney Tate Sr. sits in an oversized chair in his Lodi living room, elbows resting carefully on the armrest.

Gauze and bandages are wrapped from his fingertips to his shoulders. It took an hour for Tate's children to unwrap the bandages, clean his burn wounds and once again wrap his limbs.

"You never think it's going to happen to you, but you wake up one day in the hospital," Tate said Wednesday.

Tate, 48, and his wife, Vickie Tate, suffered severe burns over most of their bodies in a Sept. 8 vehicle crash. His parents both died in the minivan that burned to the ground on Interstate 80 in eastern Nevada.

The survivors spent about a month in medically induced comas at the University of Utah's burn center, where they were taken after the crash. Rodney Tate finally returned home last week, after more than two months in the hospital.

He's holding out hope that his wife will be home by Christmas, but January or February is more likely. Seeing her on Dec. 2, their 30th wedding anniversary, isn't possible.

Medical bills are mounting, as their insurance has been exhausted. Tate had to fill 17 more doctor's prescriptions earlier this week. The latest co-payment bill was $10,000.

How to help

Despite insurance, medical bills are piling up and not all supplies are covered, according to the Tate children. They go through about five rolls of white gauze every day, not counting other dressings.

Flying Vickie Tate on a medical helicopter would cost $16,000, so family members try to visit her in Utah, since she's alone.

Monetary donations may be made to the Kimberly Tate Memorial Fund at any Bank of Stockton branch, including the Lodi office at 120 W. Walnut St.

Tate can only dream of riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle with his son.

And when he's hungry, one of his three children helps him eat, since his fingers aren't bending yet. The same goes for bathing.

Yet, despite his constant pain and the long recovery process, Tate is looking to the future.

He's happy to be home where his four young grandchildren bring smiles to his face. He looks forward to his wife's return. On Thursday he ate some turkey and was grateful he's alive.

"I thank the Lord for saving our lives. If it wasn't for God, my wife and I wouldn't be here," Tate said more than once. "I guess it was my parents' time to go."

The events leading up to the crash are still clear in Tate's memory.

His parents, Kenneth and Loretta Tate, had driven to Missouri, where they have a farm that's been in the family for generations. Kenneth retired as a supervisor from the General Mills plant in Lodi, and family members say the couple did everything together, through more than 50 years of marriage.

Tate and his wife flew to Missouri, the first time they had been there in years. They played cards, visited with neighbors and gained a little weight from all the good food, Tate said with a smile.

Rodney Tate Sr. demonstrates the limited mobility of his hands and arms due to burns he suffered in a car accident in September. (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel)

One day, Kenneth Tate was pinned beneath a tractor and Rodney Tate managed to pull it off his father. It injured the older man's feet, hindering his driving abilities.

But all four of them continued their plans, taking the elder Tates' minivan on a meandering road trip home.

At one point on the road, Tate told his father how much it upset him to see him pinned under the tractor.

The father and son saw each other daily in Lodi and were close, but Tate hardly ever voiced his emotions. That day in the minivan, he told his father he loved him, not knowing it would be the last time.

The foursome detoured to Iowa, stopping at the birthplaces of the elder Tate and John Wayne. They saw the Black Hills and stopped in Sturgis, mecca of Harley riders. Tate and his son, Rodney Tate Jr., bought Harleys last year so Tate bought T-shirts for the family.

Every evening, around 5 or 6 p.m., they would stop for dinner and find a motel. Tate did most of the driving and he said he didn't speed or drive when he was tired.

They were in eastern Nevada when something happened. Tate said the van caught fire.

Investigators said the minivan drifted into the median around 11:30 a.m. The vehicle struck a metal road reflector and overturned.

"All I remember was seeing a black-and-white situation and my lungs were on fire," Tate said.

He recalls struggling to get out of his seat belt and screaming for his wife. He saw her kick out a window. Then he called for his father.

"He got up and went around between the two seats and wrapped his arms around my mom," Tate said.

The elderly couple couldn't get out in time.

Rodney Tate, Jr. left, listens as his father, Rodney Tate Sr., talks about the ordeal he and his family are facing daily. (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel)

A month later, Tate awoke in a hospital.

Tate is grateful he's come this far. Like his father, he had worked at General Mills, but he had to medically retire when doctors placed a pacemaker and defibrillator in his chest.

Those devices made doctors wonder if Tate would survive surgeries for skin grafts. Rodney Tate Jr. and his sisters, Sarha and Kim Tate, would get calls almost every other day from doctors saying their father probably would not live through the next surgery.

When the surgeries were over, Tate had lost a pinkie finger and a tooth. All of his skin had either burnt or been taken for grafts.

Every morning his children dress his burns. Once the wounds begin to heal, for the next year he'll have to wear a compression suit — a tight nylon material that will make the scars heal flat.

His younger daughter, Kim, moved into his home so she can be there at night.

His son's boss gave him two weeks off work so he could help get his father settled at home. He flew out early Thursday morning to spend Thanksgiving with his mother in Utah.

Tate's eldest daughter brings her four children to visit while she also helps care for him.

Along the way, little things have bolstered Tate's faith. The T-shirt store in Sturgis sent him motorcycle shirts since Tate's recent purchases were burnt in the fire. Someone gave the family plane tickets to travel to Utah. Small donations have been made to a trust fund for medical supplies and travel to Utah.

His wife, who lost the tips of five fingers and had more extensive burns on her face and head, will need even more care when she comes home. But Tate can't wait for her return.

"I don't know what I'd do without her. She's my life, and my kids," Tate said. "I pray every day and thank the Lord for saving my life."

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.