JAMES CUCOVATZ, 18, a young man poised to begin his adult life was tragically taken from us on December 18, 2004, killed in an automobile accident near Midland Odessa. James was born on March 29, 1986, and graduated from R. L. Turner High School in August 2003, one year early. James was an accomplished motocross rider, winning races all over Texas and nearby states. Although a fierce riding competitor, he was a favorite in the motocross community. In the last year, James moved from the track to the tower, and became the "Voice of Village Creek Motocross Park." as well as announcing numerous races across the southwest, including the prestigious "Lake Whitney Classic." He was the creator, writer and publisher of the Village Creek Report and wrote articles published, in several motocross magazines. James leaves behind his father, Douglas Cucovatz, his mother Teresa Buehler, both of Farmers Branch; both sets of grandparents, two step-brothers, and many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. The visitation will be held 5 to 8 pm on Tuesday, December 21, 2004 at the North Dallas Funeral Home, 2710 Valley View Lane, Farmers Branch with services to be held at the funeral home at 10:00 am on Wednesday, December 22. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in James' name to their local chapter of M.A.D.D. North Dallas Funeral Home Family Owned and Operated 2710 Valley View Lane Dallas Texas 972-241-9100

The Dallas Morning News - December 21, 2004
Submitted by Edward Lynn Williams

Young man’s life ends in tragedy

The fact that a 20-year-old Midland man is jailed on intoxication manslaughter charges does little to soothe the soul of a father grieving for his only child. Douglas James Cucovatz has been in agony since his 18-year-old son, James Douglas Cucovatz, was killed in an accident near Odessa on Interstate 20 on Dec. 18. His son and 17-year-old Angela Rae Martinez both were pronounced dead at the scene after their car collided with a car driving the wrong way in the westbound lane. The teens were on their way to a fun weekend in El Paso — a weekend that ended not with the last minute Christmas shopping they had planned, but with a trip to the morgue. Both teens were from around the Dallas area with James living most recently in Arlington and Farmer’s Branch. He was an avid motocross rider with hundreds of trophies who first climbed aboard a motorcycle at age 2. But, he did most things early and quickly, his father said. He graduated a year early from high school and jumped into his beloved motocross and then moved on to announcing for the sport. “He was too smart. He wanted to be at the top of his class and on the top step,” Douglas Cucovatz said. “He wanted to go fast and didn’t want to go slow, and he was so smart. My kid was amazing.” Cucovatz said every day is hard since he lost his son and best friend. He is bitter and angry that his son lost his life to a suspected drunken driver. “He hit the windshield. I went to the morgue and they wouldn’t let me in his room, but I could see that his right eye was barely open and you could see his white teeth,” Cucovatz said recalling years of orthodontics to get them that way. “I could see my son was dead by a drunk driver, and you look at the pictures of the wreck and it is all over the car.” Santos Solis III, 20, of Midland was jailed Tuesday on charges in connection with the accident. He was charged with two counts of second-degree felony intoxication manslaughter and one count of third-degree felony intoxication assault. The police report stated that Solis was treated and released from MCH as was Krystal Andrea Martinez, 16, who was driving the car the younger Cucovatz was in. Solis, the sole passenger in his car, was driving a 1998 black Mitsubishi east in the westbound lane of I-20 when he collided with the trio, who were in a rented 2004 silver Hyundai. Cucovatz has been pacing the floor in the weeks since the accident waiting for answers to why his son is dead and for the formal charges to be filed. Plans for a family Christmas were tragically ended on Dec. 18 for the Cucovatz family. The horrifying news came early that Dec. 18. Cucovatz said one of the Martinez sisters had a cell phone that was ringing in the MCH emergency room. “They said someone answered it and told the caller, who was a friend of the girls and of my son, that there had been a terrible accident and that the parents needed to call,” he said. Cucovatz said the message was relayed to his ex-wife, and they were then given the grim news that their son was gone. “He was supposed to be here and live a long life,” Cucovatz said. “He was supposed to take care of us when he was older.” Their son was a favorite on the motocross tracks of the Southwest — evidenced by dozens of Web sites full of condolences and stories about how the Cucovatzes’ son had touched the lives of many. The condolences touch Cucovatz, but he said he will be searching for peace for many years. “You have to go to sleep before you can get up,” Cucovatz said from his home in Farmer’s Branch. “I can’t sleep. I don’t know how to go on.” Cucovatz said he did get some comfort from a truck driver who was the first on the scene after the accident. On the day of the accident, the driver had earlier called 9-1-1 and reported a car driving the wrong way, he said. The driver told him she was first on the scene and that she had blankets and flashlights. “She put a blanket on my son and he is taking some breaths, and she said she grabbed his hand and told him ‘it’s OK.’ She told me he took one last breath and was gone.” Cucovatz said it is a comfort to know someone was with his son — but that there is no comfort in facing life without his only child. “We wore out cars and motorcycles together racing,” he said. “We’d seen it all. I’ve carried him off the track, and he has carried me off. That’s all over now.”