5 Injured in 2 Rush-Hour Crashes

Five people were injured--one critically--in two separate rush-hour accidents Thursday about three miles apart that made the commute home a tough one for thousands of people.

In the most serious accident about 5:20 p.m., a 22-year-old man traveling east on Janss Road lost control of his speeding car and swerved into the oncoming lane, slamming head-on into a car driven by a Thousand Oaks couple.

Matthew Camacho of Thousand Oaks was driving at more than 60 mph, almost double the posted limit of 35 mph, when the collision occurred at Windsor Drive, Ventura County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ken Bailey said. Camacho was trapped for about 25 minutes in the wreckage before being taken to Columbia Los Robles Hospital in critical condition with facial injuries.

The occupants of the other car, driver Joseph Rallf, 56, who had two broken wrists and a broken elbow, and his wife, Virginia, 54, who suffered facial lacerations, were also taken to Los Robles.

Traffic tied up when authorities closed both onramps to the Moorpark Freeway and a portion of Janss Road for more than three hours as they investigated.

Five minutes later, a five-car pileup occurred at the eastbound transition road from the Ventura Freeway to the Moorpark Freeway. Two people--a 35-year-old Simi Valley man and 53-year-old Santa Clarita man--were taken to Simi Valley Hospital with moderate neck and back injuries because Los Robles’ staff was overwhelmed by the victims from the previous crash, said Jim Hall, paramedic supervisor for MedTrans Ambulance.