THOUSAND OAKS : Man, 49, Dies From Accident Injuries

A 49-year-old Thousand Oaks man has died of injuries he received when he was struck by a car last weekend, shortly after sheriff’s deputies talked to him about his part in a reported disturbance, authorities said.

Victor Sarmiento was pronounced dead Wednesday evening at Los Robles Regional Medical Center, where he had been since the accident occurred about 11:15 p.m. Saturday, Deputy Coroner Craig Stevens said.

Sarmiento suffered head injuries after being hit in the 1400 block of Thousand Oaks Boulevard by a car driven by 19-year-old Darcie Maurice.

Witnesses told police that Sarmiento and another person had run in front of Maurice’s car and appeared to make it safely across.

Then Sarmiento turned and ran back into the street, where he was hit.

About 30 minutes before the accident, sheriff’s deputies had been called to the Island Village Apartments on Thousand Oaks Boulevard, where residents said Sarmiento and several other people were causing a disturbance.

The deputies noted that Sarmiento had been drinking heavily, but he was not arrested, said Sheriff’s Sgt. Will Howe.

Sheriff’s investigators are trying to locate the person who crossed the street with Sarmiento and then ran from the scene of the accident.

“We just want to find out why Mr. Sarmiento went back into the traffic,” Howe said. “Was he going back for something? Did he drop something? Was he running from this guy?”

Sarmiento had a wife in Guatemala and a nephew in Los Angeles, Stevens said.