MOORPARK : Man, Woman Killed in Highway Crash

A Moorpark man and a Port Hueneme woman were killed Friday morning when the man lost control of the car they were riding in and ran head-on into a tractor trailer on California 118, an accident that forced the closure of the busy highway for several hours.

Mario Alberto Ramirez, 33, was traveling west near Grimes Canyon Road, west of Moorpark, when he veered left into the eastbound lane and struck the truck, Officer Staci Morse of the California Highway Patrol said.

Ramirez was exceeding the 55 m.p.h. speed limit at the time of the 10:50 a.m. accident, but investigators had not yet determined the cause of the crash, Morse said.

The impact spun Ramirez’s 1979 car and pinned him inside. He died at the scene from massive blunt force trauma, Ventura County Deputy Coroner Craig Stevens said.

Ramirez’s passenger, Susan Avaya, 35, of Port Hueneme was taken to St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital, where she died a short time later from head injuries, Stevens said.

He said autopsies on both victims are expected to be completed today.

The driver of the truck, which was carrying berries, was 47-year-old Juan Gonzalez Trillo of El Paso, Tex. He was treated for minor injuries at Pleasant Valley and released Friday afternoon.

Trillo was driving between 35 and 40 m.p.h., Morse said.

Both lanes of California 118 were closed until 3:30 p.m. because of the accident, Morse said.