Santa Barbara Woman Killed When Rock Crashes Through Windshield

A football-sized rock smashed through a car windshield Friday morning and fatally injured a woman who was on her way to Las Vegas with her father for a family reunion, authorities said.

Cynthia Ann Johnson, 32, of Santa Barbara died after she was struck on the head about 10 a.m. by the small boulder that apparently had been kicked up by another vehicle, authorities said. The mother of 1- and 3-year-old boys was pronounced dead two hours later at Ventura County Medical Center, Deputy Coroner Craig Stevens said.

The accident occurred on a stretch of two-lane California 126 near Hopper Canyon Road.

Johnson’s father, Ronald Fraas, 60, who was driving a rented car, at first thought the boulder was a pine cone bounding on the road. Then the rock crashed through the windshield, struck his daughter and broke through the back window, authorities said.

“It was as bad as it gets,” said county Fire Capt. Mike Lindbery, who rode in the ambulance with the victim and her father.

Because of rubber marks on the rock, found near the accident scene, California Highway Patrol Sgt. Mike Cooper speculated that it had been wedged between the tires of a truck or bus.