MOORPARK : Teenager in Critical Condition After Crash
A teenager remained in critical condition Christmas Day, one day after suffering massive head injuries in a head-on crash near Moorpark, the California Highway Patrol reported.
The 17-year-old boy, who was not identified because he is a minor, was taken into surgery at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks shortly after the Christmas Eve accident, officials said.
Raul Ortega, 31, the driver of the vehicle in which the teenager was riding, was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving after being treated at Simi Valley Hospital for minor injuries, officers said.
The Long Beach man was still in custody Monday on $50,000 bail, jail officials said.
The driver of the second vehicle, Jay Goodman, 45, of Moorpark was in stable condition Monday at Simi Valley Hospital, a nursing supervisor said.
Ortega was driving west about 8:30 p.m. Sunday on Tierra Rejada Road, just east of California 23, when he crossed the double-yellow line and hit Goodman’s van head-on, officials said. Ortega ran from the scene, leaving the 17-year-old trapped inside the car, but Ortega soon collapsed and was detained, authorities said.
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