OXNARD : Driver Stabbed in Argument After Collision

An argument over a fender-bender in Oxnard turned violent Wednesday when one motorist stabbed another in the stomach while discussing compensation for damages, police said.

Mauricio Garcia Jr., 19, was stabbed Wednesday morning in an alley near Bevra Avenue and Ventura Road as his girlfriend stood nearby, police said. He was taken to St. John’s Regional Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition Wednesday afternoon.

The man who stabbed Garcia, described by witnesses as a Latino in his late 30s, fled immediately in a blue compact car. He had not been apprehended by Wednesday evening, police said.

The assailant had apparently run into the back of Garcia’s car on Ventura Road, and the two men pulled into the alley to discuss what they should do, police said.

“The discussion escalated and one driver stabbed the other driver,” Sgt. Cliff Troy said. “It was pretty bad. There was very minor damage. It looks like the rear bumper.”

Police cordoned off the area, took photographs of the car and alley, and interviewed residents of adjacent apartment buildings. They may have found a witness who saw the license plate of the getaway car, Troy said.

Jose Guadalupe Navarrete Tovar said he was brushing his teeth outside his apartment when he saw the argument between the two men. He said the assailant apparently did not have a driver’s license, and the men were arguing about money.

“I saw them fighting over the accident,” said Tovar, 26. “The one man said, ‘How do you drive without a license?’ When I looked next, I saw that he was holding his stomach.”

Andy Ortega, 19, was inside his family’s apartment watching television when he heard a scream in the alley behind his home.

“I came out and when I saw her, I told her to put her hand on his wound to stop the bleeding,” Ortega said. “It looked real bad.”

Police interviewed Garcia’s girlfriend, who they declined to identify, but said they have few clues to work with.