1 Killed, 3 Hurt After Car Hits Pole

A Port Hueneme construction worker was killed and his cousin critically injured in a rush-hour crash Friday morning when their car slammed into a power pole on Pleasant Valley Road east of Oxnard, authorities said.

William Taylor, 42, died at the scene east of Laguna Road from massive chest injuries, said Jim Wingate, chief deputy coroner with the Ventura County medical examiner’s office.

Taylor’s cousin, Gregory Porter, 31, of Port Hueneme was in critical condition at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard with skull and jaw fractures. Two other passengers in the car received less severe injuries. Anthony G. Hamilton, 34, of Oxnard was taken to St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo with a broken leg, jaw and ribs as well as chest and back injuries.

Taylor’s son, William D. Gray, 20, of Port Hueneme was treated for facial lacerations at St. John’s Regional Medical Center and released.

Taylor is believed to have tried to pass one or more cars as he drove to work on the two-lane road. He braked sharply to avoid oncoming traffic and spun into the utility pole, Officer Mike Robbins of the California Highway Patrol said.

The power pole broke, and a small fire started on the portion of the pole that remained standing, delaying efforts to reach Taylor’s body, Wingate said.