2 Remain Hospitalized After Separate Crashes

A Fillmore man and an Oxnard man both remained hospitalized Saturday with serious head injuries received in separate wrecks in Fillmore and north of Ojai the day before, authorities said.

Paul Cronin, 30, of Fillmore was in critical condition in Ventura County Medical Center after his eastbound Harley Davidson motorcycle collided with a van turning left from California 126 onto A Street in the Santa Clara Valley community Friday night.

The van, driven by Fidel Medina, 36, of Fillmore, fled the scene and was chased two blocks by a California Highway Patrol officer, deputies said. Medina was arrested on suspicion of felony hit and run and booked into County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail.

Cronin’s half-shell style motorcycle helmet failed to protect him from sustaining the serious injury, deputies said.

The second accident occurred shortly before midnight on Rose Valley Road near the isolated Lion’s Canyon Campground north of Ojai, a California Highway Patrol spokeswoman said.

Kevin Bakken, 21, of Oxnard, who police believe was intoxicated, received major head injuries when he lost control of his speeding pickup as he entered the campground, the spokeswoman said. The truck sideswiped a tree, struck a large boulder and rolled several times.

Bakken was taken to Ojai Valley Hospital before being transferred to Ventura County Medical Center, where he was listed in serious but stable condition. Two passengers received minor injuries and were released from the hospital after treatment.