The San Luis Obispo man killed Monday in a crash while a potential buyer test-drove his car was described as a dedicated husband and father who lived for moments with his wife and children.
“When I think of when people consider what their purpose in life is, I think his purpose was to be a father. I really do,” said his wife of 22 years, Lisa Nadalsky.
Dan Nadalsky, 53, was a passenger in the 2003 Lexus that crashed into a 2002 Toyota Tacoma on Monday along Buckley Road near San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport.
The driver was Hussan Najani, 47, also of San Luis Obispo. He had answered a Craigslist ad that the Nadalskys had posted Sunday to sell a car that had belonged to Lisa Nadalsky’s mother, who died last November.
Najani drove the Lexus west along Buckley Road with Dan Nadalsky in the front passenger seat. A witness told the CHP that he took the left curve in the road at 70 mph; signs there caution drivers to go 30 mph at the curve along the 55 mph road.
Najani lost control of the vehicle and crashed, according to the CHP.
“I don’t know him, but I hope he is OK,” Lisa Nadalsky said. “I don’t blame him.”
Najani was taken to a local hospital Monday with serious injuries. An update on his condition was not disclosed Tuesday.
The driver of the Toyota, Alan Evenson, 51, of Arroyo Grande, was set to be released Tuesday from Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo.
No charges were brought against Najani as of Tuesday, but the CHP said its investigation remains open. The vehicle is also being tested for mechanical failure.
Dan Nadalsky was a Cal Poly graduate, a longtime machinist at Paso Robles’ Cornucopia Tool & Plastics Inc. and a former youth coach. He loved photographing nature and gardening with his wife. They were making plans to travel more.
“We were always together,” she said. “Pretty much if you saw one of us, you saw the other, too.”
But most of all, he was a man who loved being a dad and grandpa.
“Anything the kids were involved with — he was a part of it,” his wife said.
His children are Danielle Consolo, 29, of Nipomo; Erik Phillips, 25, of San Francisco; and Robbie Nadalsky, 21, of Redding. Most recently, life was all about his two grandchildren, Jonathon, 2, and Kaylee, who will be 1 month old Saturday.
“He loved my kids like no one else,” Danielle Consolo said. “He’d always have a new toy for my son and would be calling me saying, ‘When can we baby-sit?’ He was there every moment he could be.”
SanLuisObispo.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. See our full terms of service here.
Here are some rules of the road:
You should also know that The Tribune does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at webmaster@thetribunenews.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the username of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to webmaster@thetribunenews.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
Be the first to know what's going on in San Luis Obispo County. Just tell us how you want to find out — we'll take care of the rest.
Sign up for breaking news alerts from SanLuisObispo.com and get the latest news sent to your cell phone via text message.
By signing up for alerts from this site, you are signing up for a program that may include up to 5 SMS text alert(s) per alert category per day. There is no service fee charged per month but your carrier's standard text messaging and other charges may apply. You may stop this subscription service at any time by sending the text message "STOP" to 72737. You must be at least thirteen (13) years of age to use our alert services. If you are between 13 and 17 years old, you agree that you have received parental permission both to complete the registration process and to receive SMS content on your cell phone. For help, send the text message "HELP" to 72737. This service will work with ATT, Verizon, Sprint, Nextel, Alltell, US Cellular, Cincinnati Bell, Boost, Virgin Mobile USA, Celluar South, Telos, Centennial, East Kentucky Network, Cellcom, Immix and Rural Celluar.
E-mail »
Twitter »
Facebook »
iTribune »
Subscribe »
RSS »
About comments
Reader comments on SanLuisObispo.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Tribune. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.