Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued the following statement regarding the deaths of California Conservation Corps (CCC) members Justin Vanmeter, Rhonda Shackelford and Serena Guadarrama:

“Anne and I are deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of these California Conservation Corps members. These three individuals had just embarked on a year of service and had so much ahead of them. Our hearts go out to their families, friends and colleagues as they mourn this tremendous loss and our thoughts are also with the others injured today.”

Guadarrama, 18, of Fresno and Vanmeter, 21, and Shackelford, 20, both of Clovis, were killed in a traffic accident this morning in Fresno while en route to a water conservation turf removal project.

Vanmeter and Shackelford joined the CCC in January, and Guadarrama last December, for a year of natural resource protection and emergency response work. They served at the CCC Fresno satellite office.

A CCC staff supervisor and two other corps members are currently hospitalized in Fresno and Visalia.

In honor of Shackelford, Guadarrama and Vanmeter, Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff.