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Boy again loses family member to car accident
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More from Local NewsA woman died after a car accident near Santa Paula that occurred while she was driving her 8-year-old grandson to school, California Highway Patrol officials said Wednesday.
Virginia Whittaker, 79, of Fillmore was taken to Ventura County Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 12:48 p.m. Tuesday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
This was the second serious accident the grandson, Zachary Whittaker, has been involved in over the past 26 months.
Zachary's brother Kensington and four other family members were hit by a vehicle as they crossed a busy street near Disneyland in March 2005.
Seven-year-old Kensington was killed and Zachary suffered a skull fracture and other injuries.
A spokesman for the family said Zachary did not appear to be hurt in Tuesday's accident.
Zachary and his grandmother were en route to Ventura Missionary School, said the spokesman, George Maxson.
They were going north on North Briggs Road and had stopped at a stop sign before pulling out into the intersection at West Santa Paula Street, according to the CHP.
A vehicle traveling east on West Santa Paula Street entered the intersection at the same time, striking the driver's side of Whittaker's car, the CHP said.
The Whittaker car then hit a second vehicle before it flipped over and landed on its roof.
Maxson said Zachary tried to free his grandmother from the car before crawling out.
Whittaker died of blunt force injuries to the chest and abdomen, according to the Ventura County Medical Examiner-Coroner's Office.
Zachary also was taken to the hospital, where he was examined and released, Maxson said.
Maxson said the boy undergoes speech therapy from the injuries he suffered in 2005.
Posted by dathomas on May 24, 2007 at 8:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
OMG! Poor little boy. Such trauma to have to go through at such a young age. I'm sure he's an angel on earth and will someday do something absolutely inspiring because of all the hard lessons he is having to learn now. Poor little thing.
Posted by steph16 on May 24, 2007 at 8:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
i saw this accident but i didnt see a little boy at the site when i past it all i could say was that i hope the person in the car that was flipped over in a ditch was ok. People really need to learn how to drive. That morning there was 3 accidents that i passed. My prayers are with him and his family.
Posted by AnnaWhaat on May 27, 2007 at 8:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
My prayers to this little child. This is just too much to endure for a little boy. Also my prayers to Mrs. Whitakers family. Such a sad story !
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