Two Atascadero FFA youths unable to participate in fair auction after car accident • Atascadero News

Cameron Hernandez and Aiden Herzig are on the road to recovery and their animals will be auctioned off with the help of friends

NORTH COUNTY – On Tuesday, July 23, at approximately 11:20 p.m., two Atascadero teenagers were involved in a car accident and were unable to attend the California Mid-State Fair auctions with their animals.

15-year-old Cameron (Cami) Hernandez and her 17-year-old boyfriend Aiden Herzig were driving home after a long day with their animals that started at 6 a.m. and visiting Herzig’s newborn niece when the car crash happened. Herzig fell asleep at the wheel and his truck careened straight into a tree. Both teens suffered non-life-threatening injuries and the truck was totaled.

Herzig was hospitalized overnight to have his ribs bruised from hitting the steering wheel examined. He also needed stitches in his mouth. Hernandez needed stitches in his face and legs and broke his foot.

“Aiden and Cami are in a lot of pain but are doing well. Cami will have to wear a walking cast for a while while her broken foot heals and both will need stitches, but despite everything they are in good spirits,” said family friend Sara Hardisty. News from Atascadero.

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

“If you want to fill your freezer with some beef or goat, or are looking for a heifer that is about to calve, you can bid on them. Or you can do ‘add-ons,’ which is just donate any amount to their projects,” Hardisty said in a Facebook post addressed to the community.

Add-ons will be available from 8:00 a.m. Sunday, July 28 through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, August 4. For more information on purchasing add-ons, see this link and page 6: storage.googleapis.com/midstatefair-com/uploads/2024%20Auction%20Handbook2.pdf.

All proceeds from the sale of Herzig and Hernandez’s animals will benefit the students’ FFA projects next year and help Herzig purchase a new truck to drive to school and a barn to care for the animals.

The families would like to thank all those who helped and the first responders who assisted in the accident.

We will continue to follow this story, see next issue of Atascadero News for tracking the auction results of FFA members.

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