http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/122225

Published: 03.29.2006

Family mourns mother killed in head-on car crash
By Shelley Shelton
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
A Marana Unified School District reading teacher who was killed in a head-on car crash Sunday evening was "a very good mom" who always put her family first, according to one of her five daughters.
Erin K. Leadbetter, 56, died Sunday after a 1990 Ford pickup truck crossed the center line on West Avra Valley Road and smashed into the 2002 Chrysler minivan Leadbetter was driving. Her husband, Tho-mas K. Leadbetter, 57, was a passenger in the vehicle, according to Marana Police Department reports.
The driver of the Ford — Tomas Vasquez Martinez, 31, of Mexico — also was killed in the crash. The truck was upside-down when police arrived, said Sgt. Tim Brunenkant, Marana Police Department spokesman.
Witnesses say Martinez was speeding and did not have the truck's headlights on, Brunenkant said.
Thomas Leadbetter was taken by helicopter to University Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. He was listed in fair condition Tuesday after undergoing surgery on his arm Monday night.
By Tuesday afternoon, four of Leadbetter's five daughters had arrived in Tucson, with the fifth scheduled to arrive in the evening from out of the country, said daughter Katie Leadbetter, 28, who drove in from Flagstaff late Sunday night.
The family was waiting for all the sisters to be together before deciding on memorial details, Katie Leadbetter said.
Her father still must undergo surgery on his left leg in the coming weeks, she said.
Erin Leadbetter was "a very good mom. She put all of us first. Took care of us," Katie said through tears while at the hospital with her father. "If it wasn't for family and our churches right now, I don't know what we'd be doing."
"She went to every one of my daughter's ballet recitals — she was that kind of aunt," said Erin Leadbetter's sister, Teresa Mellum, 48, of Tucson.
Mellum also said her sister was a devoted Christian.
"She never thought of herself first. She always thought of everyone else."
Leadbetter had been a remedial reading teacher at DeGrazia Elementary School, 5051 W. Overton Road, since August 1994, said Tamara Crawley, district spokeswoman.
News of her death was "tragic and shocking" to the district and the DeGrazia community, she said.
Staff members, teachers and students were informed of Erin Leadbetter's death first thing Monday morning, and the district's Crisis Response Team stayed at the school all day to offer counseling, she said.
"This is a tremendous loss for our district," Crawley said. "We send our deepest condolences to Mrs. Leadbetter's family, and the district is committed to providing necessary resources to provide a supportive environment for the staff and teachers of DeGrazia Elementary."
The school sent letters home to parents on Monday afternoon, Crawley said.
The Tucson Police Department — where Thomas Leadbetter has worked since 1975, most recently in the data services section — echoed similar sentiments Tuesday afternoon.
"He's been a valuable member of the team a long time," said Officer Dallas Wilson, a department spokesman who was conveying a message from Thomas Leadbetter's supervisor, James Wysocki. "We offer our condolences. The department hopes him a speedy recovery, and we look forward to seeing him back at work."
Brunenkant said police are investigating whether alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash, but police won't know for sure until toxicology tests come back in a couple of weeks.
Alcohol containers were found in the road where the Ford had been just before the crash, he said. That detail, combined with the truck's speed, its weaving and lack of headlights lead police to believe drugs or alcohol were involved, he said.
The Leadbetters were driving home after visiting family members in Queen Creek and Flagstaff.
Erin Leadbetter was wearing her seat belt, Brunenkant said, and her sisters said Thomas Leadbetter was wearing his as well. It was hard to tell whether the other driver was wearing his, Brunenkant said.
"With the impact, it wouldn't have mattered," he said.
Northwest Fire/Rescue personnel used the Jaws of Life to remove Thomas Leadbetter from the minivan, Brunenkant said.