Piru Man Killed in Crash After Attending Funeral

A 23-year-old Piru man was killed in an alleged drunk driving accident early Friday after attending an aunt’s funeral the previous day, authorities said.

The Ventura County coroner’s office said Steven Gonzalez died of asphyxiation after he was trapped under the wreckage of a late-model El Camino driven by 21-year-old Richard Ramos of Piru.

Ramos and Gonzalez are believed to be cousins who had spent the day drinking after an aunt’s funeral Thursday, said Dave Cockrill, a California Highway Patrol spokesman.

“They were apparently mourning the loss of the aunt following her funeral Thursday,” Cockrill said. “They had obviously been drinking a lot. I don’t know why they went out.”

Ramos was driving southbound on Piru Canyon Road heading into Piru when he crossed over the northbound lane, left the road and plunged into an embankment, causing the truck to roll, authorities said.

“He admitted to driving 80, and said he lost control,” Officer Steve Neumann said.

Ramos was able to extricate himself, but could not help Gonzalez, who was trapped. He ran about half a mile to a friend’s house and called authorities, but emergency crews had a difficult time locating the truck, Neumann said. Gonzalez was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities arrested Ramos, whom they described as extremely distraught over the accident, on suspicion of felony drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter. Unofficial tests showed he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.24, three times the legal limit. He was being held in lieu of $20,000 bail.

Services for Gonzalez are being scheduled at Skillin-Carroll Mortuary in Santa Paula.