THOUSAND OAKS : Youth Plunges Car Off Road Into Ocean

A 16-year-old Thousand Oaks boy whose car careened off Pacific Coast Highway into the ocean suffered only minor injuries and managed to escape the vehicle just before the surf washed it away, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The boy, whose name was not released because of his age, was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and later released to his mother early Monday.

The teen-ager was headed south on the Pacific Coast Highway about 1:10 a.m. Monday just south of Sycamore Canyon Road when he lost control of his car, the highway patrol said.

The car ran off the roadway and into a utility pole before continuing into the surf, the highway patrol said. The driver was able to free himself from the car before the vehicle was washed away by the current, Officer Staci Morse said.

“He was going around a curve when he lost control of his vehicle,” she said.

The boy crawled up the rocky embankment to the highway and located a passing Ventura County Sheriff’s Department patrol officer, who alerted the Highway Patrol, Morse said.

“We took him to the hospital and contacted his mother about 5 a.m.,” Morse said.

Officials limited traffic to one lane each way through 7:40 a.m., Morse said. The vehicle still had not been located by late Monday, she said.

Officials said the boy was treated at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks for his injuries before being cited for alleged driving under the influence of alcohol.