Near Fatal Crash Prevents Pancake Breakfast

A near fatal car crash destroyed the equipment for the Deerfield Family Days annual Fourth of July pancake breakfast early Thursday morning on Highway 41 just south of Belvedere Road in Park City causing cancellation of the event.

Reynaldo Abarca, the son of Rhapsody Café owners Ramon and Diana Abarca, was transporting the equipment for the breakfast to Jewett Park early Thursday morning when his truck was hit from behind by a Jeep at approximately 5 a.m. severely injuring him and destroying the equipment, according to Ramon Abarca.

Reynaldo Abarca heard something rattling in the rear of his truck, stopped the vehicle and went into his truck bed to secure the equipment, according to Ramon Abaraca. As he was securing the equipment, the truck was hit from the rear by the Jeep throwing him 75 feet from the vehicle.

“Thank God he landed on the grass. If he landed on the road the policeman told me he would not have made it,” Ramon Abaraca said. “He’s in a lot better condition than he could have been,” he added in an email.

Reynaldo Abarca was not completely off the road when he stopped his truck and removed the tarp covering the equipment, according to Park City Police Chief Walter Holderbaum. While Abarca was working there, the truck was struck from the rear by another vehicle.

At this time, Holderbaum is waiting for a more detailed report before commenting further. He is not yet sure how fast the vehicle which struck Abarca's truck was going.

Ramon Abaraca was able to talk to his son for the first time after the accident Sunday. “It was five minutes only but it felt like a lifetime,” he said. He is hopeful his son will make a full recovery.

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