Car accident leaves two Atascadero FFA teens unable to participate in fair auction

Cameron Hernandez and Aiden Herzig are on the mend, and their animals will still go to auction with help of friends

NORTH COUNTY — On Tuesday, July 23, at approximately 11:20 p.m., two local Atascadero teens were in a car accident, leaving them unable to participate in the California Mid-State Fair auctions with their animals.

Fifteen-year-old Cameron (Cami) Hernandez and her 17-year-old boyfriend Aiden Herzig were driving home after a long day of being with their animals that started at 6 a.m. and visiting Herzig’s newborn niece when the single-vehicle accident took place. Herzig fell asleep behind the wheel, and his truck ran directly into a tree. Both teens received non-life-threatening injuries, and the truck was totaled.

Herzig was admitted to the hospital overnight to observe his bruised ribs from hitting the steering wheel and also received stitches in his mouth. Hernandez received stitches on her face and legs and broke her foot.

“Aiden and Cami are very sore but are doing well. Cami will be in a walking cast for a bit while her fractured foot heals, and both will need sutures removed but despite that, are in good spirits,” family friend Sara Hardisty told Atascadero News.

Hernandez has two animals being shown this year at the California Mid-State Fair: a market goat named Brown Sugar and an Angus replacement heifer named Shalah. Herzig’s FFA project is an Angus steer named Bodacious. Hernandez’s animals will be shown by another FFA member in her place. Shalah (replacement heifer) will go to auction on Friday, July 26, starting at 5 p.m., and Brown Sugar (market goat) will go to auction on Saturday, July 27, starting at 8 a.m. Bodacious will also be shown on Saturday, July 27, at the Junior Livestock Auction.

“If you are looking to fill your freezer with some beef or goat or are looking for a heifer that will calve shortly, they will be available to bid on, or if you’d like, there will be the ability to make “add-ons” which are just donations in whatever amount towards their projects,” said Hardisty in a FaceBook post she put out to the community.

Add-ons open on Sunday, July 28 at 8 a.m. and go through Sunday, Aug. 4 at 11:59 p.m. Visit this link and down to page six to find out more information about purchasing add-ons: storage.googleapis.com/midstatefair-com/uploads/2024%20Auction%20Handbook2.pdf.

All money raised through the sale of Herzig and Hernandez’s animals will go toward the students’ FFA projects next year and help towards getting Herzig a new truck to get to school and the barn to care for the animals.

The families would like to thank everyone who stopped to help and the first responders who gave aid during the accident.

We will be following this story, see next week’s edition of Atascadero News for a follow up on the FFA members auction results.