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3 killed in car crash in Oxnard

Vehicle hits auto parts store on Fifth

Three people were killed early Sunday in a solo vehicle crash at Fifth Street and Diaz Avenue in Oxnard, officials said.

Oxnard police responded to the call of an injury accident about 2:19 a.m. and found that a red Ford Taurus had hit a Car Quest Auto Parts building at 1000 E. Fifth St., according to a statement from the department.

The three people in the car, two men and a woman, were found unconscious and unresponsive and were later pronounced dead at the scene.

The car, driven by a 36-year-old man from Moorpark, had been traveling east on Fifth toward Diaz at an unknown speed, according to the preliminary investigation. The driver failed to negotiate a bend in the road, for unknown reasons, and the car hit the building.

The driver and the female passenger, who was riding in the front passenger seat, were wearing seat belts, Oxnard Police Department spokesman David Keith said. The passenger in the right rear seat was probably not wearing a seat belt, he said.

The driver was pronounced dead at 2:32 a.m. by Gold Coast paramedics, who declared the female passenger dead at 2:38 a.m. The male passenger was pronounced dead at 2:34 a.m. by paramedics.

The female and male passengers were from the ages of 18 to 20. The identities of the car's occupants are being withheld pending notification of their families. The passengers' cities of residence had not yet been confirmed, police said.

Tests to determine whether alcohol or drugs were involved in the crash will take a few weeks to complete, Keith said.

Evidence of the crash was scant later Sunday.

There was broken glass, bits of mirror, bits of plastic and a pool of what appeared to be oil in the gutter by the auto parts store.

A wooden foundation under the store had been gouged, and there was a black tire track on the sidewalk, but the store's glass windows were intact.

Discussions

Posted by lrgvanman on April 28, 2008 at 6:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Pretty bad spot as the road races begin there to gain control on the "I-34" (actually, just SR 34). The speed limit there is 35 and people drive nuts at that point, sometimes about 60! I wouldn't be surprised to find that there was a battle lost for the lanes there.

Posted by goldeneye on April 28, 2008 at 7:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Given the time of morning, there is a high probability of this being a speed contest or alcohol related or both. People never learn.

Posted by West_to_East on April 28, 2008 at 9:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)

SO WITHOUT JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS, LETS LOOK AT IT IN THIS POINT OF VIEW. MOORPARK 36 YRS OLD WITH TWO PASSENGERS 18-20 AT APPROXIMATLY 2:19 AM ON SUNDAY. STREET RACING NO COPS ARE OUT ON 5TH STREET. DRUGS HMM THERE WOULD OF BEEN DRUGS IN THE CAR OR ON THEM. ALCOHOL COULD BE IN PLAY BUT WOULDNT MAKE SENSE SINCE THEY DIDN'T DIE INSTANTLY.

THEN MY QUESTION IS, IT WAS REPORTED AT 2:19 THE FIRST MALE DIED AT 2:32, 13 MINS AFTER IT WAS REPORTED NOT OCCURED. THE SECOND GUY DIED AT 2:34 15 MINUTES AFTER IT REPORTED AND THE GIRL DIED AT 2:38 19 MINUTES AFTER IT WAS REPORTED. WHAT TIME DID THE AMBULANCE GET THEIR. ITS DISCLOSED. "THEY WERE LATER PRONOUNCED DEAD AT THE SCENE." THIS QUOTE DOESN'T MAKE SENSE, THEY WERE DEAD WHEN THE AMBULANCE FINALLY ARRIVED

Posted by readerone1 on April 28, 2008 at 4:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

It’s very sad but something hadda to be wrong with that driver, that bend it’s not that crazy that it should trick you into a building with enough force to kill all occupants, even those in the back seat even with out a seat belt. I guess that’s why there is always a cop right there, should post one at night.

Posted by jwallace on April 28, 2008 at 5:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)

West-to-East,

I know the article is confusing, but also keep in mind that the time it was reported is when the computer in dispatch probably logged the call being answered. Then the call-taker has to determine when, where, and what happened from a possible upset or scared reporting party, then determine what resources are needed. Then there's dispatching the call, the fire and ambulance crews waking up, gearing up, and the response time through the city (though I'm sure there was no traffic at that time of night). Once on the scene, it may have taken them some time to actually gain access to the victims inside the mangled car, then determine if they are able to be saved or prounced. In Ventura County, with a very few exceptions, only a paramedic in the field (excluding doctors) can pronounce someone dead. A person can have no head (or in this case, possibly died instantly), but until a paramedic arrives on scene and calls it, it's not official - legally speaking. In the end, 15 minutes from the call to being pronounced is pretty efficient - although I'm sure it felt like an eternity to any witnesses that were there waiting for the fire department to arrive.

Hopefully that clarifies any confusion...

I'm interested in how much drugs and/or alcohol played in this. It's hard not to see a building - especially Car Quest right there...

Posted by Angeliki805 on May 1, 2008 at 11:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)

yey thats wat I Believe In Oxnard driving ....hmm that moorpark guy had too be down here with or comin fo drugs it juss it juss seems like that would be or it was juss a very bad accecednet that they were unfortunate in..

Posted by Angeliki805 on May 2, 2008 at 10:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)

its a sad thing



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