Wear your seat belts

[daepp]

(He restored the AH himself, was at the rpime of his life, a member of my church!)


Claremont resident dies after car crash

Claremont resident Eugene Boling, a renowned rheumatologist and father of 4 adult children, died last Wednesday after a car crash at the intersection of Base Line Road and Towne Avenue.

Dr. Boling, 56, attempted to make a left turn onto Towne at about 8:45 a.m. His 1959 Austin Healy convertible collided with a 2006 Nissan Mirano that was traveling east on Base Line, and Dr. Boling was ejected from his vehicle, which had no seatbelts.

He suffered significant injuries from the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

The Nissan was being driven by a 41-year-old Claremont resident; her 14-year-old daughter was in the passenger seat. Both were transported to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center and were released after being treated for minor injuries. Police withheld the driver’s name.

The cause of the collision is still under investigation, Claremont Police Capt. Gary Jenkins said, but witnesses said both drivers had a green light. “Our preliminary investigation indicates there was no fault on the part of the driver” of the Nissan, he said.

Dr. Boling, a Claremont resident for 20 years, was a rheumatologist in private practice at Inland Rheumatology in Upland. He was also a volunteer at USC Medical Center and Loma Linda Medical Center, his wife, Anita, said.

Dr. Boling, born in Oakland, later earned his undergraduate degree at Loyola University, and went to medical school at University of California, Los Angeles. He completed his internship and residency at the University of Utah, and was granted a fellowship in rheumatology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He was also a major in the US Air Force.

At about 5 a.m. the day of his death, Dr. Boling and his wife worked out at the Claremont Club. He was scheduled to see patients at Casa Colina in Pomona, and he left later that morning in his convertible Austin Healy, which didn’t have seatbelts because, his son Daniel said, his father wanted to keep it in its original condition.

Ordinarily he would only take the car to the Village, as he did once a week to have breakfast with his wife and mother, Patricia Dyer. His family is unsure why he took the car to Casa Colina the day he died.

Dr. Boling leaves behind 4 adult children: Daniel, Christy, Gregory and Jennifer, and two granddaughters: 4-year-old Jenna and 4-month-old Hailey.

“No matter how busy he was, if one of us wanted to talk to him, he would make time,” said Gregory, 25.

Added 29-year-old Christy: “He never put any expectations on his kids to be anything but joyful or happy. He was just an amazing father. … I’ll remember his joy, his laughing, especially with his granddaughters. He was just a very fulfilled man.”

Gregory, the father of Dr. Boling’s two granddaughters, said his father “used to just light up” when he was around the girls. “It’s hard to describe how happy he was when he was with them.”

“I’m just very sad that he’s gone,” Ms. Boling said. “He was like my best friend, and we had a wonderful marriage.

He was a devoted Catholic, giving large amounts of his time and money to charity, and volunteering at his church, Our Lady of the Assumption in Claremont. “We taught natural family planning together for 20 years,” his wife said.

And he did it all while shunning recognition, Ms. Dyer, his mother, said. “He was never boastful—never proud.”

Ms. Dyer said her son was the joy of her life, a perfect child whose loss will be “devastating.”

“It’s going to be a terrible loss,” she said. “His dad left when he was young, and he was my backbone. He was so supportive.

“I’ll remain in Upland, but it’s going to be very difficult. I’m going to take it one day at a time and trust in God. I don’t know why He took him first, but He did. I always thought he’d be here for me; that’s not how it happened. …

“Nothing can bring him back. I’ve had such a difficult time dealing with that.”

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[widebody911]

Did the AH have belts? My '56 ghia doesn't but I'm going to install an aftermarket set.

[m21sniper]

I suspect that of all the ways he could've expired, being in the drivers seat of his beloved Austin was WAY at the top of the list.

While i surely feel bad the man has gone, he is truly the lucky among us, as he got to go doing what he loves best....driving his baby.

Godspeed and goodluck to him i says.

[artplumber]

I'm thinking cell phone and too much speed (and not the guy). At 56 he probably wasn't losing his vision/depth perception yet. But just a supposition.

[Tishabet]

I installed aftermarket belts in my 38 Buick for just this reason, and everything else in the car is totally correct. This is one of the only modifications that car judges usually are allowed to overlook.

[legion]

Baseline in Claremont!

I used to live off of Baseline in La Verne...not too far from there.

[cashflyer]

A properly restored 59 AH would not have seat belts. You can add aftermarket belts, but that would cost you concourse points.

Seat belts were not mandatory in the US until '64.

[Tishabet]

Originally posted by cashflyer
You can add aftermarket belts, but that would cost you concourse points.

That depends on the concours. I am all for overlooking seat belt additions as long as it's done tastefully.

[daepp]

It's hard for me to imagine how he was ok without seatbelts - he was an MD!

[jorian]

I wonder if the risk of death from no seat belts, because your car didn't come with them, will get you some concourse points.

[daepp]

One thing I should add is that there was a new traffic light configuration at this intersection.

If I can describe it right - they are becomming fairly common here - if you are in the left turn lane/pocket, facing a red light, you are first presented with a green left arrow. After a time, the green arrow goes away (no longer a protected turn) and you are now facing a green light only. This means that what was once a protected-from-oncomming-traffic turn across the intersection now becomes a regular green light/no arrow intersection. This can be confusing, esp. since it was a fairly recent change.