Motorist Killed in Crash Near Cemetery

An 83-year-old Ventura man was killed Friday when his car collided with an armored truck just as he was leaving a cemetery after visiting the grave of his wife, police said.

The man had not been identified late Friday, pending notification of relatives.

His Ford sedan was struck on the side by the truck at 4:48 p.m. apparently as he was making a left turn from Ivy Lawn Memorial Park at 5400 Valentine Road in Ventura.

Ventura Police Sgt. Bob Velez said the driver of the armored vehicle, owned by Armored Transport of California Inc., was traveling within the speed limit and not considered to be at fault.

The truck driver “attempted to make evasive moves,” Velez said, pointing to skid marks curving away from the entrance to the cemetery. The truck was slightly damaged with two flat tires and a dented front end.

The impact of the accident pushed the victim’s car about 40 feet before it came to rest against the metal fence separating the Ventura Freeway from Valentine Road.

The man apparently died instantly from massive head injuries, Velez said. But the coroner will investigate whether a heart attack could have caused the driver to stray into the path of the truck.

A policeman said several rakes and garden tools in the trunk of the man’s car initially led them to believe that he was a landscaper.

But two women who witnessed the accident told police that the man had faithfully visited his wife’s grave every week since her death two years ago. He had used the garden tools to manicure the site.

The three armed guards in the truck were not injured. They remained in their vehicle until another armored truck arrived to move their cargo. A spokesman for Armored Transport said the truck was carrying money from Ventura to Los Angeles at the time of the accident.