West Hills Woman Killed in Collision Near Oxnard

Authorities released the identity Sunday of a 27-year-old West Hills woman who died after she lost control of her BMW sedan and was broadsided by a pickup truck.

Jolie Amber Feeney was driving south on Victoria Avenue near the Santa Clara River bridge in Oxnard shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday, said Officer Fred Baskin of the California Highway Patrol.

She veered onto a gravel shoulder, then spun as she tried to get back on the paved road, he said.

“It appears that she jerked the wheel to the right, causing the vehicle to go out of control,” Baskin said.

By the time she tried to correct her car, it was sliding sideways on the curved road through the gravel divider and into the northbound lanes, he said.

The Nissan pickup, driven by Angela Jones, 55, of Port Hueneme, hit the passenger side of the BMW, smashing the side door into the driver’s seat, Baskin said. Feeney died instantly.

Jones was transported to Ventura County Medical Center and treated for injuries, including facial cuts and chest injuries, authorities said.

There was no indication that alcohol or controlled substances played any role in the crash, Baskin said. Both drivers were wearing seat belts.

Feeney had a love for fashion, politics and movies, but her long-term goal was to become a lawyer, said her mother, Claudia Jeanne Feeney, assistant copy desk chief for the Valley and Ventura County editions of The Times.

“She always had it in the back of her mind but hadn’t taken steps toward doing it,” her mother said. “You couldn’t get her away from cases, whether it was the Clinton impeachment or the O.J. Simpson trial.

“She was beyond addicted, where other people couldn’t stand to hear about it anymore,” her mother said. “She wanted to talk about all the angles.”

A communications major at Cal State Northridge, Feeney had recently started work at OPI Travel Inc. in North Hollywood, where she was handling corporate travel accounts.

“She had gotten a wonderful job where they loved her and appreciated her,” her mother said. “She could have gone far.”

Besides her mother, Feeney is survived by her father, Norman Feeney of Fresno; her stepmother, Heidi; and her brother, Scott Prewitt, 9.

“We had a special connection when it came to things in the world,” her father said Sunday. “She was a good girl and a good friend. That was the most special thing about her.”

Praiswater Meyer Mitchell Mortuary in Van Nuys is handling the arrangements.