When [autotag]Brendan Schaub[/autotag] went public with his involvement in the immediate aftermath of a fatal wrong-way car crash, Rita Campos felt the effect.
The tragic incident happened Aug. 12 around 7 p.m. Monday, four days later, Schaub detailed how he helped rescue three kids from the wreckage on his “The Fighter and The Kid” podcast. Various media outlets picked up the story, which spread quickly given Schaub’s popularity and status as a former UFC fighter.
That’s when Campos’ phone started to blow up.
“All of a sudden all these people were texting me the story and were like, ‘This is you. This is you he’s talking about,'” Campos told MMA Junkie on Thursday. “And then I watched (his podcast), and it just brought everything flying back.”
The crash wasn’t an accident, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, which determined that 31-year-old Cesar Iban Torres tried to kill his girlfriend and their four children when he drove an SUV on the wrong side of the 101 Freeway with his family inside. Aimee Garcia, 26, died in the alleged intentional crash; the four children – ages 1 to 7 – suffered moderate injuries.
Garcia’s brother, Juan Zavala, told ABC 7 that hours before the crash, Torres called him with a disturbing message that “he has to give his family to God.”
The DA’s office announced charges against Torres on one count of murder, four counts each of attempted murder and child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death, and one count each of assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest.
“A family has been torn apart by this tragic collision that leaves four young children without their mother,” District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement.
The case remains under investigation by the California Highway Patrol.
‘He gave me the baby’
Campos, 49, said she was driving home from work and was “maybe three car lengths” behind a tractor trailer back when she witnessed the SUV slamming into it, causing her to swerve and immediately pull over. She said Schaub and another woman also pulled over and sprung into action.
Upon arriving at the scene, Schaub said he saw Torres get hit by a vehicle when he tried to flee the scene.
“So I’m running towards the mangled car, and I see a guy with no shoes on. He’s in a (tank top), kind of out-of-shape Mexican running across the 101,” Schaub recalled. “I’m like, ‘What the f*ck?’ I’m looking, and then a Dodge Durango, probably going 60 miles an hour – whack! – hits him.”
Campos said she “definitely, 100 percent” also saw Torres struck by a vehicle, though she does not think it was going 60 mph.
“As I’m asking (Schaub) if he called 911, I heard the thunk [sic] and looked over and saw the guy get hit by this black SUV,” Campos said. “I can’t confirm if it was a Durango or not, and I said that to the police when they took my statement, but he definitely got nailed by that car.”
By the time Campos reached the mangled SUV, she said Schaub and two other men were already trying to pry the doors open. Schaub described having to smash an already broken window in order to access two kids and pull them from the wreckage. Schaub said he handed over the youngest to a woman. That woman was Campos.
“He gave me the baby, and I just kind of started focusing on the other kids,” Campos said. “Myself and the other lady, her and I were really focused on the kids and just staying with them. I did lose sight of Brendan at that point, because that must’ve been when he left.”
Schaub, who held back tears on his podcast, indicated he was nervous for his safety while in the middle of everything because of the amount of gasoline on the freeway.
“The 18-wheeler, where the car hit it, it hit the gas tank,” Schaub said. “… So there’s a flow of gas, as thick as this room, flooding out. My shoes, my jeans are all covered with gas because I’m running. It smells so much like gas.”
Campos recalled the same.
“The fuel was all over the place from the initial 18-wheeler that hit the car,” she said. “It was like waiting to see if the semi was gonna catch fire or anything, because it was just so crazy.”
Schaub left the scene once he knew the kids were in good hands, before first responders arrived. According to Campos, Schaub assisted with the rescue effort for “five to six minutes.” She estimated that first responders arrived about 10 minutes after Schaub left.
Schaub explained why he didn’t stick around.
“I was a little mad at myself for putting my (girlfriend) in that situation, and I have kids. I’m like, ‘Man, what the f*ck am I doing?’ So I was a little mad,” Schaub said. “My father-in-law (works for the California Highway Patrol), so I call him and tell him, ‘I was the first on the scene, but I didn’t stick around because it was so dangerous. Hopefully I don’t get in trouble for it, but if you need any witnesses, I saw it all.’ And he goes, ‘OK, we’ll keep you posted.'”
Doubt put to rest?
Not long after Schaub shared his experience, doubt about his involvement began to spread on social media, with some believing he could’ve fabricated the story. Skeptics pointed to him leaving without speaking to authorities, and therefore proof of his presence didn’t exist. They also highlighted what they consider unbelievable details described by Schaub – specifically Torres being struck by a vehicle, gasoline “flooding” from the tractor trailer, and the removal of the kids from the wreckage.
Campos said she felt bad for Schaub once she saw the chatter growing, which prompted her to respond to some skeptics on Twitter. Make no mistake, she said: Schaub was there, and his story – even if not entirely how she remembers certain details – is accurate.
“What I saw, he was definitely extremely active and pulling the doors open and trying to get in and the windows … it looked like he was almost standing on the floorboard to get leverage to pull the doors open from where I was standing,” Campos said. “So I do feel his description from what I saw was accurate. He was there a minute or so before I was, but when I rolled up, he was definitely in (the act) of trying to rip the doors open.”
Campos hopes everyone who doubted Schaub’s retelling of his traumatic experience can get past it.
“Fifteen minutes, 12 minutes isn’t that much time in the grand scheme of things. But when you’re in the middle of it, seems like forever,” Campos said. “I think people just aren’t able to grasp that there was a massive amount of traffic when it happened. Four lanes got immediately blocked, and it took time for (first responders) to get to us and help us.
“I don’t think you realize how much your adrenaline goes into high gear, and you’re just looking at things. Again, the guy getting hit and Brendan and me running was really a split second. It wasn’t like we stood there and were analyzing the situation. It was such a surreal moment. Because you’re like, I just saw this massive accident, and now this random dude is getting nailed by a car. OK, but I’ve got fuel spilling, and there’s kids over there. Let’s take off. It was instantaneous. If you’re not there, you don’t know.”
‘Processing the sheer volume of different traumas’
Campos stayed on the scene until officers told her she could leave. She said she remained the entire time because she was too concerned for the kids.
She shared a heartbreaking exchange she had with the oldest child.
“One of the kids, the chubby one that Brendan was describing, he said, ‘We don’t have a home anymore. We don’t have a home anymore.’ And he’s like, ‘My dad said we were going to heaven now. Am I still going to heaven? Are we still going to heaven?'” Campos said. “And I’m like, f*ck, man. ‘No, you will at some point, but not today. You’re a big brother now. You’re here to protect them, and you’re being a brave big brother.'”
One week later, Campos – like Schaub – is still coping with everything she experienced and witnessed.
“I’m still processing the sheer volume of different traumas that were all happening at the same time. I don’t know how else to describe it. You’ve got all these kids whose lives just turned upside down, and they’re injured. You’ve got a woman that’s dead. You’ve got a father that is completely off; you knew something was wrong. You saw a police fight. It was just so insane.”