Woman Pinned in Car by Asphalt Truck

An 18-year-old Ventura woman was trapped in her smashed car by a tractor trailer after a collision which backed up southbound traffic on the Ventura Freeway for hours Wednesday.

Julie Anne Blasingame was listed in critical but stable condition at Ventura County Medical Center after a truck carrying more than 50,000 pounds of asphalt crushed the blue 1987 Toyota Corolla she was driving.

The California Highway Patrol said a chain of events led to the crash about half a mile south of Seaward Avenue in Ventura shortly before 2 p.m.

Authorities said Kevin Sober, 30, was driving in the middle lane--in front of the truck carrying the load of asphalt--when a front tire on his big rig blew out at about 1:55 p.m.

As Sober began to move to the right shoulder of the freeway, the CHP said Blasingame, who was driving in the right hand lane, tried to pass Sober’s truck on the right.

But the CHP said Blasingame lost control of her car and that her vehicle struck the front bumper of the asphalt truck driven by Gustavo Vasquez, 25, of Los Angeles. The impact sent Blasingame’s car into a spin, the CHP said, and both Blasingame’s car and the asphalt truck headed into the freeway median.

Rescuers spent more than 30 minutes extricating Blasingame from the smashed vehicle. Vasquez said he tried to avoid Blasingame’s car, but lost control after her car collided into his truck. Vasquez, who was not injured, said Blasingame was lucky to have survived the crash.

“I’m lucky to be alive, too,” Vasquez said.