OAK VIEW : Woman, 4 Children Hurt as Car Plunges Down Embankment

An Oak View woman and her four children were injured Tuesday when their car plunged over the side of a rain-slick California 33 in Oak View and rolled down a 150-foot embankment before landing upside down in the Ventura River, authorities said.

The highway was closed for almost four hours while rescue operations were under way, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Rescue personnel used a helicopter to pluck the family from a sandbar before transporting them by ambulance to Ojai Valley Community Hospital.

Carrie Kiener, 29, and her 6-year-old son, Joseph, were treated for moderate injuries that included broken bones, cuts and bruises, then released, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Kiener’s three other children--Shawn, 5; Jericho, 3, and Harley Neiderniser, 1 1/2--received minor injuries and were released after treatment, the spokeswoman said.

The accident occurred at 1:45 p.m. on the Arnaz Grade south of Creek Road, a CHP spokeswoman said.

Kiener was driving about 45 m.p.h. when her car drifted off the side of the road and tumbled over the steep embankment, the spokeswoman said.

Although the road was wet, no rain was falling at the time, she said.

Kiener, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected as the car came to rest in the shallow river and suffered a broken collarbone, the spokeswoman said.

Despite a broken wrist, Joseph rescued his half-sister Harley, who was fastened in an infant’s seat, the spokeswoman said. She only suffered scrapes, officials said.

The CHP reopened the highway at 5:22 p.m.