OXNARD : Sailor Killed After Truck Overturns

A 24-year-old sailor was killed early Sunday when the truck he was driving ran off Pacific Coast Highway.

The sailor, who was not identified, drowned. He was also severely burned, Deputy Coroner Zelmira Isaac said. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:25 a.m., coroner’s investigator Jim Wingate said.

A passenger in the truck, Gregory Bennett, 27, was taken to St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, where he was treated and released, authorities said.

The man and Bennett, both enlisted men stationed at Point Mugu Pacific Missile Test Center, were driving north on Pacific Coast Highway south of Las Posas Road about 2:20 a.m. at a high rate of speed, authorities said. As the truck started into a curve, an engine being carried in the truck bed shifted, causing the driver to lose control, the California Highway Patrol said.

The vehicle rolled over onto the driver’s side and slid 250 feet before plunging down a 50-foot embankment, the CHP said.

Bennett climbed out of the truck to get help. While he was seeking aid, the fuel tank in the truck caught fire and the driver was burned, the CHP said.

The CHP made no mention of the truck rolling into the ocean, but Isaac said drowning was the cause of death.