Driver Dies, 2 Hurt as Car With Man Clinging to Hood Crashes

A Moorpark woman was killed and two men were injured Thursday night when the car driven by the woman smashed into a tree after speeding 2 1/2 miles through Simi Valley with one of the men clinging to the hood, police said.

The incident apparently began at Royal Avenue and Erringer Road when 50-year-old Elydia Alamillo, with one of the men as her passenger, tried to drive away from an argument with the other man, who climbed onto the hood. It ended when her car, traveling 60 to 70 m.p.h., struck the tree at the point where Royal ends on Acapulco Avenue, said Lt. Mark Layhew of the Simi Valley Police Department.

Miss Alamillo was pronounced dead Thursday night at Simi Valley Adventist Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said. Her passenger, 33-year-old Rafael Jimenez of San Jose, was listed in serious condition Friday in the intensive care unit at Simi Valley Community Hospital.

Thrown From Hood

Benjamin Becarra, 23, of Moorpark suffered head injuries when he was thrown from the hood of the car through a wooden gate at the edge of Acapulco, Layhew said. Becarra was listed in critical condition at Simi Valley Adventist Hospital.

Police were not sure of the relationship between the three victims, or of the cause of the accident, Layhew said. He said Becarra apparently climbed onto the car after arguing with Miss Alamillo.

A witness, Ed Almond of Agoura Hills, said Miss Alamillo appeared to lose control of her car while trying to bounce Becarra off the hood. Almond said he saw Miss Alamillo drive through the intersection of Royal and Madera Road at 70 to 80 m.p.h.

“The car became airborne when it hit a dip in the road . . . ,” he said. “By the time I turned the corner they had run into the tree.”

Almond said he and his son, Keith, helped pull Miss Alamillo and Jimenez from the car, which burst into flames when it hit the tree. Layhew said Becarra was found more than 30 feet from the tree, in the backyard of a house.