A driver who was high on methamphetamine and heroin when he killed two rescue workers in a head-on DUI crash will remain behind bars after California Gov. Gavin Newsom blocked his early release under the state’s controversial Elderly Parole Program.
Newsom’s decision Friday overturned a parole board ruling that would have freed Joseph Tidwell, now 57, after he served less than half of his 45-year sentence. The move brought relief to the families of Scott Johnston, 29, and Phil Calvert, 58, who died in the 2004 collision.
Bob Blanck, Johnston’s closest friend and a survivor of the crash, had urged officials to reject Tidwell’s release in an emotional opinion article for The California Post.
Blanck praised the governor’s intervention as “a rare act of common sense,” noting that Tidwell had served only 22 years behind bars.
“It was definitely a great surprise,” Blanck told The Post after learning of Newsom’s decision.
A San Bernardino County schoolteacher, Blanck was volunteering with the San Gorgonio Search and Rescue Team on the night of July 17, 2004. The crew was racing to Joshua Tree to help search for a missing 17-year-old.
Tidwell, who was 35 at the time, passed out while driving, crossed the center line and slammed his truck into the rescue team’s Suburban. The impact killed Johnston and Calvert.
Trapped in the vehicle’s back seat, Blanck could do little as medical workers performed CPR on Johnston.
After several minutes, Blanck realized his best friend was dead. Calvert suffered catastrophic injuries, including crushed legs, and later died from complications.
Blanck sustained severe injuries of his own. He spent three months in the hospital and underwent five surgeries.
Surgeons repaired a torn artery and fused his lower back. They also inserted a rod and screws into his leg and fitted his foot with an external fixator.
Tidwell escaped the crash without physical injuries and was arrested at the scene. His girlfriend, who was riding in the passenger seat, was seriously hurt.
Years later, Blanck remains visibly affected by what happened.
“Even though I watched my best friend die right in front of me, and I was told about Phil’s passing, their deaths didn’t really hit me until I was home,” he wrote in his opinion piece for The Post.
A San Bernardino County jury convicted Tidwell in 2007 on two counts of second-degree murder.
In December 2024, after serving 20 years of his sentence, Tidwell—then 55—sought release through California’s Elderly Parole Program.
The parole board rejected that request after reviewing disciplinary infractions from his time in prison.
Tidwell reapplied just 18 months later. On June 30, 2026, the board granted his request for elderly parole.
That decision still required review by Newsom, who ultimately reversed the parole grant.
“I acknowledge that Mr. Tidwell has made efforts to improve himself during the 22 years he has been in prison. He has completed a vocation, participated in self-help programming, and is enrolled in college courses,” Newsom wrote in a letter shared with Blanck on Monday.
”However, these factors are outweighed by negative factors that demonstrate he remains unsuitable for parole at this time.”
Tidwell was convicted of a DUI and was arrested for a second DUI that resulted in a parole violation before the fatal 2004 crash.
He also used drugs and engaged in financial misconduct at Soledad State Prison, Newsom noted in the letter.
”In light of his relatively recent misconduct in prison, as well as his past record of parole violations in the community, I have concluded that Mr. Tidwell must do additional work to address his risk factors before he can be safely released,” the governor wrote.
California’s Elderly Parole Program permits eligible inmates who are 50 or older and have served at least 20 continuous years in prison to receive special consideration for parole.
Convicts sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole are not eligible.
Under the previous eligibility rules, inmates were eligible for elderly parole only after serving at least 25 years of their sentence and reaching age 60.
The program originated as part of California’s efforts to reduce prison overcrowding and was expanded in 2021 to cover younger inmates who had served less time.
The program has sparked fury statewide over violent criminals becoming eligible for release.
Under the rule, state corrections officials in February granted parole to one of Sacramento County’s most reviled child predators, David Allen Funston, who kidnapped and molested at least eight children in the mid-’90s.
Amid public protest over the decision, Funston was hit with fresh charges just hours before he was due to be released.
The law permits eligible inmates to reapply for parole every 18 months, even in cases such as Tidwell’s, where the parole board’s decision was rejected by the governor.
That means Tidwell may reapply for elderly parole in 2028, something Johnston’s heartbroken mother, Beth Greenwood, can’t fathom.
”I’m very happy with the outcome of this particular decision, but this is going to come up again in 18 months,” she told The Post through tears. ”[Tidwell] can get out and be just as dangerous now as he was then.”
