2 Men Die and 1 Hurt When Truck Falls Into Ravine

Two men died and a third was seriously injured Friday evening when their pickup truck plunged down a ravine in Balcom Canyon, California Highway Patrol investigators said.

Investigators were questioning a fourth man who managed to escape from the truck as it was diving down the steep canyon.

The man left the accident shortly after it occurred about 5:40 p.m., hitching a ride to a home in Santa Paula, said CHP Officer George Orozco.

Two other men in the pickup truck were killed as it slammed 250 feet down Balcom Canyon on Balcom Canyon Road about a mile north of Bradley Road, officials said. The force of the impact was so great that it broke the truck into at least three pieces, authorities said.

A third man was taken to Pleasant Valley Hospital, where he was reported in serious condition late Friday with multiple fractures to the spine and ribs.

The two dead men, one of them a 23-year-old resident of Empire near Modesto, may have been agricultural workers employed in Santa Paula, said Deputy Coroner Craig Stevens. Their identities, and those of the other two occupants, were not available late Friday. It was not immediately clear who was driving the truck because all four occupants were ejected, said CHP Officer Mike Serrano.

A witness saw the northbound truck go off the side of the road and pulled over, Orozco said. The witness saw a man scramble over the embankment but refused his request for a ride, Orozco said.

The man then flagged down another car and rode to a home in Santa Paula, where CHP investigators were questioning him late Friday.

CHP deputies were unsure of the cause of the accident late Friday, but were investigating the possibility of mechanical failure.

The two-lane Balcom Canyon Road was expected to be closed for several hours Friday night in both directions while rescue workers hauled the truck up and deputies continued their investigation.

The winding road, which connects Moorpark with Fillmore, is so treacherous that motorists are advised to slow to 10 m.p.h. at some spots.