Oxnard crash kills driver, sends boy to hospital after pickup slams into tree
Christian Martinez
Oxnard police investigated a crash early Thursday that killed a driver and temporarily closed a major road.
The single-vehicle crash was reported just after 4 a.m. in the 1600 block of Rose Avenue. Officers arrived to find a pickup had driven onto a median and into a palm tree.
The 30-year-old male driver from Oxnard was killed in the incident. A 2-year-old boy in a car seat on the front passenger side was taken to Ventura County Medical Center with minor injuries, Oxnard Police Department Sgt. Tim Kelley said.
Officers said they determined the truck had been traveling south on Rose Avenue at a high speed. For unknown reasons, the vehicle left the roadway and struck a palm tree in the center divider, police said.
In addition to speed, alcohol may have also played a role in the crash, police said. The Oxnard Fire Department and Gold Coast ambulance crews also responded to the crash.
The crash closed Rose Avenue between Gonzales Road and Cesar Chavez Avenue for several hours. Traffic along northbound Rose Avenue was flowing as of 7:20 a.m. and northbound lanes reopened by 9 a.m.
Thursday’s crash was the city’s seventh fatal wreck of 2018, said Cmdr. Denise Shadinger, who was on scene.
The crash remained under investigation. Anyone who has information about the incident is asked to contact Senior Officer Jamie Brown at 805-385-7749 or email jamie.brown@oxnardpd.org.
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