OXNARD : Motorist Arrested in Hit-Run Accidents

An Oxnard man suspected in two hit-and-run accidents was arrested Wednesday morning following a cross-town police chase that ended when the man abandoned his car and the vehicle slammed into a sign pole.

Thomas R. Rivera, 31, was being held in Ventura County Jail on suspicion of felony evading a peace officer and hit-and-run causing property damage. Bail was set at $10,000. Rivera told police he did not have a license and began driving only a few months ago. He also said that a friend had lent him the white Crown Victoria he was driving.

The incident began just before 9:30 a.m. when two burglary detectives, Sgt. John Leach and Cpl. Jeff Killion, spotted a motorist driving illegally in a center lane and then turning quickly onto Pleasant Place, which runs through the campus of E.P. Foster School.

The two detectives followed the car. “We thought something had happened, that maybe a parent was in trouble,” Killion said.

The motorist drove through the campus, then turned right on Olive Street. When the car reached the on-ramp to California 33 at Stanley Avenue, the driver made an erratic U-turn and sped back down Olive Street, Killion said.

As the detectives continued their pursuit, police dispatchers broadcast information about a hit-and-run that had just occurred in the Ventura Avenue area. A second hit-and-run was later reported on Poli Street, and two witnesses identified Rivera as the driver in both crashes.