Crash Victim Still in Critical Condition
A 21-year-old woman remained in critical condition Wednesday after a two-car crash this week on the Ventura Freeway near Mussel Shoals, which left one man dead.
Crina Alexander Vasiliu, a Los Angeles resident who underwent surgery Tuesday night, was in the intensive care unit of Ventura County Medical Center, a nursing supervisor said.
Vasiliu was driving a Mitsubishi Precis south on the freeway Tuesday afternoon when a Toyota Camry driven by Rabbi Martin Ballonoff, 51, veered into her path at a freeway intersection that provides access to a restaurant, hotel and several homes in the Mussel Shoals area.
Ballonoff, who was killed in the crash, was traveling north on the freeway when he apparently lost control of his car and drifted into soft dirt near the center divider. After striking a guardrail, Ballonoff’s Camry passed through an open turnoff and into the southbound lanes where it was broadsided by Vasiliu’s car.
The collision closed all southbound lanes of the freeway for more than two hours and renewed calls by local residents for additional guardrails and reduced speeds for that stretch of highway.
State officials have yet to act on proposals to construct an overpass or offramp for the Mussel Shoals and Seacliff communities.
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