Hospitalized Montgomery junior Chris Mentch, 16, said his first words Tuesday afternoon since suffering serious injuries Sunday along with a friend when they crashed in Mentch's beloved Bronco.
"Bronco crashed. How's Brian?" Chris Mentch asked his mother, Pam Mentch.
"As a mother those few words he mumbled to me are embedded in my brain," she said Tuesday from the hospital. "His first words were of concern for his friend, Brian."
"Bless his heart. They're both such great boys," she said.
Mentch and Brian McCammon, 17, are close friends, Montgomery juniors and well known campus athletes. They were hurt Sunday afternoon after they crashed into a tree off of Bennett Valley Road.
Mentch Tuesday remained in intensive care at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital in critical condition.
McCammon was at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento and Tuesday was listed in fair condition. He was being treated for serious injuries including facial damage.
Pam Mentch said she and her husband Mike were heartened to see improving signs, including that a respirator had been removed Tuesday and their son could breath on his own.
"There was severe trauma from the accident. We're not out of the woods yet," she said. "We're hoping he'll have his strength and stamina back soon."
A few close friends were allowed to see him Monday and Tuesday.
The improvement between visits was dramatic and a relief, said Matt Carter, 16, a fellow football player and longtime friend.
"Today is a lot better. He's awake," said Carter. "He squeezed our hands. He was Chris again."
Mentch, at 6-foot-3 and 319 pounds, is a starting lineman for Montgomery's varsity football team.
"The football team misses him," Carter said. "Chris is the epitome of immortal. He's like 330 pounds, a big kid, a mechanic. We look at what happened and it puts everything into a reality check."
Similar feelings were expressed by friends of McCammon, a starter on Montgomery's varsity basketball team.
"It's just a wake up call. That this could happen to anybody. You think it only happens in movies, but when it happens to someone on your team..." said Anthony Becker, a senior who plays with McCammon.
McCammon missed Monday night's game against Rancho Cotate High School.
But he was connected to the action from his Sacramento hospital room via a cell phone and his teammates assured him successfully that they'd give him the win he wanted.
They also learned after the game that his family hoped they'd go to a morning Mass at St. Eugene's Tuesday that would include prayers devoted to the two teens.
Brian's mother, Mary McCammon, teaches at St. Eugene's School and the McCammon family attends the eastside church.
Tuesday morning, a packed congregation gathered for the service. The crowd included students from several schools and a large group sporting Montgomery Viking red in support of their injured classmates.
"The entire varsity team showed up. They all wore their red jackets in honor of Brian, with their sweatbands" marked with his initials, said Heather Brascia, who attended along with her son, Dominic, who plays on the basketball team.
"We wanted to be there for him. He asked that we be there and we wanted to fulfill whatever he wants us to do," said Becker.
Wednesday at Montgomery High school officials will set out large paper banners to give students a chance to write messages to Mentch and McCammon, said Principal Laurie Fong.
It's a good idea, said friends.
"I'm glad our school is doing something. They're well known athletes around the school. It's good people can show their support," said Carter.
Mentch and McCammon were four-wheeling Sunday on a friend's property off of Bennett Valley Road.
Chris Mentch is passionate about four-wheeling and the blue 1969 Ford Bronco he got while in the seventh grade, said friends and family.
The teen has used the Bronco to learn how to work on cars.
McCammon was driving Sunday as the two headed onto Bennett Valley Road. On a sharp turn, the Ford ran off the road, hit a gate and then slammed into a tree.
The CHP was investigating a report that the vehicle may have had steering problems earlier in the day. But initially the crash appears to be due to an unsafe turning movement that led to the Bronco running off the road, the CHP said.
While focused at the hospital on their only child, Pam and Mike Mentch have been comforted by overwhelming concern and caring from numerous factions of the community for both the boys and their recovery.
They also were grateful for Tuesday's prayers at the Mass.
"The Mentch family would like to send out a heartfelt &‘thank you' to all the community for the support and network of friends and strangers who have responded so, you know, enthusiastically," she said.
Pam Mentch is a teacher at Rincon Valley Middle School and Mike Mentch has had a 30-year teaching career in Santa Rosa including years at St. Eugene's School and current assignments for Santa Rosa city schools and at Santa Rosa Junior College.
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