Holding on to hope

Deepa Bharath

Down by serene Back Bay Drive, where birds skim lightly over patches

of water and the only sounds heard are the rustle of swaying trees and

the occasional deep breathing of runners, Wednesday evening was an

anomaly.

South of San Joaquin Hills Road, on winding Back Bay, flowers in glass

vases rested along the side of the road. A small group of people gathered

around the makeshift shrine, comforting one another.

At that moment, one man occupied their thoughts. His name -- Gary

Holdren.

The 54-year-old Newport Beach man remained in critical condition

Wednesday, sunk in a medically induced coma. Holdren was reportedly

assaulted by a barrage of paint-ball pellets Sunday afternoon while he

skated along Back Bay Drive.

Newport Beach officials said the impact caused Holdren to fall

backward, breaking his skull and causing a severe head injury. Police are

investigating the case and are still looking for three young men they

believe fired the paint-ball pellets from the bluffs.

On Wednesday evening, Holdren’s girlfriend, Bonita Young, held

pictures of herself and Holdren together, smiling.

“He grew up in Rochester [N.Y.], and I grew up in Syracuse [N.Y.],”

she said. “We came 3,000 miles away from home and met here. We met in

December and fell madly in love.”

The couple had planned to go to Las Vegas this weekend, Young said.

“It’s shocking,” she exclaimed, walking around the black splotches on

the road that still remain from the paint-ball pellets hitting the

street.

“Look at this,” Young said, becoming emotional. “This is disgusting.

Who hits someone when they’re down? These guys just didn’t stop. Gary

didn’t have a chance.”

John Hawbaker, Holdren’s neighbor at Park Newport Apartments, brought

along Holdren’s favorite martini glass to place on the shrine.

“We were supposed to meet that Sunday at 6 p.m. for dinner,” he said.

“He was supposed to do the cooking.”

Hawbaker said he and Holdren meet for dinner almost every weekend. On

Sunday, Holdren never showed up, and it wasn’t until Hawbaker saw the

newspaper that he realized what his friend had been through.

“I was surprised because he Roller-blades only 10% to 15% of the

time,” he said. “He loves to go running down here.”

Hawbaker described his friend as a “super guy who loved to have fun.”

“He was healthy, athletic, lifted weights,” he said. “He never ate

fats. He’d eat half a baked potato, never put butter on it.”

Holdren sells mechanical heart valves and serves as the western region

sales manager for a Texas-based company called Sulzer Carbomedics Inc.

Kevin Anderson, who has worked with Holdren for more than two years,

said his boss is “well-known and well-liked.”

“We’re having this vigil so people know that the gentleman who was

hurt here is a wonderful man,” he said.

Anderson called the incident a “very serious crime” that people

shouldn’t take lightly.

“We want to make people aware of what happened here,” he said, “make

them realize that he is someone they should be concerned about and

remember in their prayers.”

Exercisers using the road Wednesday said they are concerned about the

incident.

“It’s really scary,” said Danielle Kushner, a UC Irvine student who

was riding her bike. “It really makes you think. I think I’ll definitely

watch my back from now on.”

Jim Daugherty, who said he enjoys running along Back Bay after work,

said he was surprised the incident even happened.

“I’ve been running here for years,” he said. “I’ve seen cars speed

down here, but never saw any paint balls.”

* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 deepa.bharath@latimes.comf7 .