Co-workers, friends mourn Yuba City woman

Vandy Jean Foutz died doing what she helped others do for more than a quarter century.

Foutz, a 53-year-old Yuba City resident, was on her way to her job as a trainer at the state Department of Motor Vehicles office in Sacramento at 6:05 a.m. Thursday when another driver dozed off while traveling north on Highway 99 near Messick Road, according to California Highway Patrol.

Foutz swerved to avoid Angela Elizabeth Mah, 20, of Concord, whose Nissan Maxima drifted into the southbound lanes, the CHP said. Mah hit Foutz's Chrysler Fifth Avenue head on.

"It's so numbing to think she's not here anymore," said Leslie Todd, administration manager for Yuba City's DMV office where Foutz worked from the mid-1980s to 1997 when she was promoted to the state office. "Why does it have to be her? Why does it have to be anyone? But not her."

Foutz's and Mah's crash lead to a four-car wreck that partially blocked Highway 99 for about two hours, according to CHP.

"We were amazed at how much debris was scattered along the highway and could not even recognize the make or model of the red vehicle that was so badly smashed," driver Glynis Buschmann said in an email. Like Foutz, Buschmann was commuting from her Yuba City home to work in the Sacramento area.

After the initial crash, the two cars blocked northbound lanes. Sinhue E. Estrada, 35, of Antelope was driving north. He tried to avoid crashing with the two cars, pushing Mah's Maxima into one of the southbound lanes, where George Leighton was driving his Mazda 6. Leighton, 61, of Yuba City, hit Mah's car.

Edgar Valdés drove by as crews were hauling off three of the four cars. Two of them looked like "balls of mangled metal."

"It was awful to drive by the aftermath," said Jamie Linn-Adams on the Appeal-Democrat's Facebook page. "I was running about 15 minutes behind. Thank God."

Foutz's friends and co-workers remembered someone who was a good kind of eccentric, said Irma Ayala, drivers' license manager at the Yuba City DMV office.

Foutz would always wear bobby socks and tennis shoes, Ayala said, calling it "the Vandy uniform."

"She could be wearing a wedding dress, and she would wear those bobby socks and tennis shoes," Todd echoed.

When holidays rolled around, Foutz decked out her outfits even further, wearing reindeer or pumpkin earrings to accent themed sweaters.

"You'd have your sequins, beads and buttons. Lots of beads. Tons of beads," Todd said.

She said no one would wear those odd outfits, but Foutz didn't care. "She'd be like, 'Yeah, what of it? You're just jealous,'" Todd said.

Foutz never forgot her friends, even after her promotion 14 years ago. She stuck with her old colleagues visiting them frequently. She continued to call with a small clique of them who went on trips together. Last October, Todd and Foutz went with the group on a cruise to Ensenada, Mexico.

"She wasn't one of those we-should-do-lunch-sometime people," Todd said. "You actually did see her. She did say 'hi.'"

Police do not think drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash but officers are still investigating, said CHP Officer John Sowles, who added that he doesn't believe Mah will be charged.

Mah broke her lower right leg near the ankle and was taken to Rideout Memorial Hospital with an open fracture.

Estrada was also taken to Rideout with after complaining he had pain in both knees. He was treated and released.

Leighton told officers he had back pain, but did not go to the hospital.

"Everybody liked her. There wasn't anyone who didn't like Vandy," said Cristi Williams, registration manager at the Yuba City DMV. "She's damn near irreplaceable."

Her colleagues can no longer rely on the person they call "a walking encyclopedia of the DMV" — someone who knew the department's rules and regulations inside and out — but Foutz on Thursday gave up driving for air travel, Todd said.

"I know she's got her wings," Todd said. "She's got her wings for sure."

CONTACT reporter Jonathan Edwards at jedwards@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4780. Find him on Facebook at /ADjedwards or on Twitter at @ADjedwards.