Nerida “Nettie” Hernandez spent her life helping people in their most frightening moments. As an emergency room nurse at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, she was known for moving toward crisis with calm, compassion, and purpose.
In the early hours of last Thursday morning, that same instinct led her to stop on the side of Interstate 15 after seeing a crash near State Route 76. Nettie had just finished an overnight ER shift and was driving home when she came across someone who appeared to need help.
She was not the only one who stopped. Gary Tillman, a fellow Good Samaritan and former Marine, also pulled over to assist at the scene.
According to the California Highway Patrol, another vehicle struck both Nettie and Tillman while they were trying to help. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver involved in the initial crash was later arrested on suspicion of felony DUI and gross vehicular manslaughter. The investigation has added another painful layer to a tragedy that has devastated two families and the San Diego medical community.
For Nettie’s husband, Emilio Hernandez, the most heartbreaking part is that he believes she would have made the same decision even if she had known danger was involved. He said that if Nettie knew alcohol may have been involved, she still would have stopped.
That statement has stayed with many people because it speaks to who Nettie was. Her final act was not unusual for her loved ones to understand. It was exactly the kind of thing they believe she would do.
Emilio, a former Marine, flew in from Texas to honor his wife’s memory. Even while facing the shock of losing her, he said the focus should be on the life she lived and the impact she left behind.
The couple had recently celebrated their 14th anniversary in Yosemite, one of the places Nettie loved. Hiking was a major part of her life, and together with close friends Tori and April Hunk, she and Emilio had dreamed of visiting every national park in the United States.
Now, those friends say they plan to keep that dream alive in Nettie’s name. For them, continuing the journey is one way to carry forward the love, energy, and joy she brought into their lives.
Nettie, a Texas native, moved to San Diego in 2020 to become a nurse. She turned 40 last year and was preparing for another major chapter after recently being accepted into the Air Force as a Second Lieutenant.
She was expected to begin that new role in September. Her husband spoke about it with both grief and humor, imagining her still finding someone to help, even beyond this life.
For Emilio, the loss has left him without the person he described as the one who made things happen. He said Nettie was the executor, the person who handled life with strength and direction, and without her, he feels lost.
At Sharp Memorial Hospital, her death has left coworkers heartbroken. One colleague remembered her as the friend everyone needed and the nurse every patient would hope to have.
Another coworker described Nettie as someone with a special warmth, a kindness that seemed to radiate from her, and eyes that always carried a spark. As her family and hospital community search for lasting ways to honor her, they are remembering a woman whose final act was the same thing she had done all her life: stopping for someone who needed help.
