2 Seriously Injured in Head-On Crash

Two people were seriously injured Thursday when an old blue van trying to pass another vehicle on a rural stretch of Olivas Park Drive collided head-on with a car carrying a Ventura woman and her 3-year-old daughter.

The mother, 33-year-old Natalie Williams, suffered major head injuries in the 6 p.m. crash. She was in critical condition Thursday night at Ventura County Medical Center, a nursing supervisor said.

Erick Orozco, 21, of Oxnard was listed in serious condition Thursday night at the same hospital. Ventura County Fire Capt. Wayne Ferber said the man had several bruises on his head but was conscious at the scene.

Williams’ daughter, who was found by firefighters on the back seat floor of her mother’s Jaguar, suffered moderate injuries and was in stable condition. At the time of the crash, she was not in a child safety seat, as is required by law.

According to California Highway Patrol Sgt. Doug Howell, the Orozco was going east on Olivas Park Road between Telephone Road and Victoria Avenue when he sped up, crossed over a double yellow line and attempted to pass a Chevrolet Astro van hauling a 22-foot boat.

Witnesses estimated the speed of Orozco’s van at more than 70 mph.

Orozco swerved onto a dirt shoulder to miss a westbound Jeep Cherokee but then struck the westbound Jaguar head-on after returning to the road, Howell said.

The impact forced the Jaguar into the eastbound lanes, where it struck the driver’s side of the Astro van and then skidded along the side of the boat. The impact left a green streak on the side of the white boat, crushed the Jaguar’s front-end and shattered several of its windows.

Williams’ husband arrived on the scene after the accident and was directed by officers to the hospital.

“He was visibly upset,” Howell said.

The blue van spun out of control and wound up on its side in the westbound lanes. Firefighters reached Orozco by entering from the rear doors and pulling out the van’s back seats, Ferber said.

Minutes before the crash, Orozco had left his job at a nearby rental company, officers said.

John Mitchell, who was driving the Astro van, was headed to his Port Hueneme home after visiting a boatyard in Ventura. Neither Mitchell nor his passenger, Claude Judson of El Rio, were injured.

“I was just like cruising and the next thing I know . . . [the other van driver] swerved and then just went head-on,” said Mitchell.

Howell said the accident was caused by excessive speed and an illegal lane change but that investigators from the CHP’s Special Incident Response Team would be looking for other factors including drugs or alcohol.

All eastbound and westbound lanes of Olivas Park Drive were expected to be closed until 10 p.m., Howell said. The area is home to a farm owned by a Ventura family. A farm employee on the scene said speeding and crashes occur frequently on the road.