COUNTYWIDE : Few Incidents Mar Holiday Weekend

The holiday weekend proved to be a quiet one for Ventura County law enforcement, with little crime and few accidents reported over the three-day period, authorities said Sunday evening.

A California Highway Patrol spokesman said 16 people were arrested for driving under the influence as of Sunday afternoon, but those drivers were not involved in any major accidents.

In the week before the holiday, police and fire officials sought to persuade local residents not to shoot off illegal fireworks, which have caused costly fires and numerous injuries in the past.

These efforts paid off, officials throughout the county said, with only one fireworks-related injury reported.

An unidentified 18-month-old boy from Burbank was watching a fireworks display at Simi Valley High School with his parents in Atherwood Park when a bottle rocket struck him in the face, Ventura County Fire Department dispatcher Jackie Noel said.

The bottle rocket, fired by someone in the crowd, hit the toddler on the right side of the face as it careened to the ground, Noel said.

The child suffered scrapes and redness on the face and was taken by his parents to Simi Valley Hospital for treatment and released, Noel said.

Although there was moderate to heavy traffic on local highways for much of the holiday, only one major accident was reported Sunday, the CHP spokesman said.

The accident occurred about 1:30 p.m. on California 126 near Piru when an eastbound vehicle crashed near Center Street, a CHP spokesman said.

The crash left one unidentified passenger hospitalized at Santa Paula Hospital and another unidentified passenger hospitalized at Ventura County Medical Center, the spokesman said.

CHP officers impounded the vehicle involved in the crash and were investigating the cause Sunday evening, the spokesman said.