2 Men Die, a 3rd Seriously Injured in Traffic Accidents

Traffic accidents in Oak View and near Port Hueneme on Friday left two men dead following a head-on collision and a third in the hospital with serious injuries after his auto rolled over while he was allegedly driving drunk, police said.

Frank J. Fragiacomo, 71, of Oak View, and a 65-year-old Oxnard man, whom officials would not identify pending notification of relatives, were pronounced dead at the scene by Ventura County medical technicians. The head-on crash occurred about 2:30 p.m. on Ventura Avenue in Oak View, according to Barry Parker, a Ventura County firefighter and paramedic.

The Oxnard man was driving in the southbound lane when he swerved across the double yellow line and collided with the Dodge Colt of Fragiacomo, who was driving in the slow lane of northbound California 33, according to Dave Cockrill, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol. Neither car had passengers.

A woman who was driving the vehicle behind Fragiacomo told police that the other man, who was driving a Dodge Challenger, appeared to have “a glazed look in his face” just before the crash, Cockrill said.

The woman, whom police did not identify, was not involved in the collision and was not injured, he said.

No alcohol containers were found in the Challenger and police said they did not detect the smell of alcohol. Neither driver was believed to be speeding, Cockrill said.

Northbound traffic was detoured to Creek Road while southbound vehicles used Creek and Santa Ana roads for more than two hours, Cockrill said.

An autopsy is scheduled on both victims today or Monday. Parker listed the preliminary cause of death for both victims as “massive internal injuries.”

Nita Tracy of Ojai, a family friend for 35 years, said Fragiacomo “was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather.”

Fragiacomo and his wife, Barbara, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in December, she said.

Tracy described Fragiacomo as an avid golfer and fisherman who made annual pilgrimages to the Trinity River in Northern California for weeks of salmon fishing.

The couple, who lived in Oak View about 31 years, also loved to go dancing.

Fragiacomo served 25 years as a manager at a Smart & Final food store in Ventura, until he retired about a decade ago, Tracy said.

In the other crash, Brian Cook, 35, was allegedly drunk when his auto flipped over on Pacific Coast Highway near Hueneme Road at 6:26 p.m., a CHP spokeswoman said.

The accident forced another car, driven by an unidentified motorist, off the road. That driver, whose car came to rest in a ditch, was not injured, the spokeswoman said.

Cook, whose last-known address was in Camarillo, was cited for allegedly driving under the influence and was taken to St. John’s Hospital in Oxnard where he was listed in very serious condition, according to the CHP and a nursing supervisor.

It is unclear whether the two cars collided, police said. Details of the accident were sketchy.