4 Injured in Crashes in Ventura, Moorpark

Three traffic accidents in Ventura and Moorpark have left one person in critical condition and three others injured, authorities said Thursday.

Alcohol was a factor in the two most serious crashes, authorities added.

The first accident occurred in Moorpark about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when Steven Barnes, 44, of Moorpark, drove his 1947 Studebaker pickup truck across the center divider on Los Angeles Avenue and struck a car driven by 25-year-old Lisa Mansfield of Moorpark, authorities said.

The force of the collision caused Barnes’ pickup to slam into a third car driven by James Hines, 55, of Moorpark, who was not injured.

Barnes was thrown from his truck and suffered injuries to his chest and abdomen. He was listed in fair condition at Los Robles Medical Center on Thursday. Mansfield was treated for cuts and released.

Barnes was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving.

In the second accident at 11 p.m. Wednesday, a 49-year-old Camarillo man drove off Alessandro Drive in Ventura and crashed into a freeway embankment at the San Jon Road off-ramp of the Ventura Freeway.

James William Bird, who was alone in the truck, suffered head, neck and chest injuries. He was in critical condition Thursday at Ventura County Medical Center. Bird was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving.

The third accident occurred about 12:40 p.m. Thursday, when a car driven by a 29-year-old woman slammed into another car on Thompson Boulevard in midtown Ventura. The woman, Carla Diana Lautman, allegedly had been driving on the wrong side of the road while weaving through traffic and running several red lights. Witnesses told police she was driving 60 to 80 m.p.h., Ventura Police Cpl. John Turner said.

The driver of the other car, who was not identified, complained of neck and back pain but the extent of his injuries was not known, police said. Lautman of Ventura was being held Thursday in Ventura County Jail in lieu of $500 bail.