Woman Dies, 2 Others Hurt in 3-Car Crash

One woman was killed and two others sent to the hospital after a three-car collision Thursday in east Ventura, authorities said.

Evelyn Nichols, 76, of Ventura was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a spokeswoman for the Ventura County medical examiner’s office. The cause of death was neck, chest and abdominal injuries.

Witnesses told Ventura police that Nichols was driving north on Johnson Drive about 11:15 a.m. when she ran a red light at Telephone Road and was broadsided by an eastbound car driven by 62-year-old Rebecca Percy of Ventura, according to Cpl. John Turner.

Her passenger, 76-year-old Bernadeen Murrell of Ventura, was taken by ambulance to Ventura County Medical Center and was listed in critical condition Thursday night in the intensive care unit, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Percy was taken by ambulance to the County Medical Center, where she was treated and released.

Hours after the crash, witnesses were still expressing disbelief at what they saw.

“My stomach has been queasy all day. I hated to see something like that,” said Marvin Willholth of Ventura, who was returning home from a friend’s house when the crash occurred.

Willholth was stopped at the red light when Nichols’ car entered the intersection from the opposite direction. Upon impact, Nichols’ car spun around three times, he said.

“We still had the red light, and then it just happened,” Willholth said. “I put my flasher lights on and then I ran right over there.”

A U. S. Postal Service truck was not able to stop in time and slammed into Nichols’ vehicle, Willholth said. The driver was not seriously injured, and the remaining mail was transferred to another truck.