Officials Identify Woman Killed in Weekend Crash

A 27-year-old woman who died this weekend after losing control of her car near Oxnard was identified Sunday as Jolie Amber Feeney, authorities said.

The West Hills resident was killed instantly when her BMW was broadsided about 6 p.m. Saturday by a Nissan pickup driven by Angela B. Jones, 55, of Port Hueneme, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Feeney had been traveling south on Victoria Avenue, just north of Gonzales Road in an unincorporated area of the county, at speeds in excess of 60 mph when she lost control of her car and spun into the northbound lanes, authorities said.

“It happened so fast, even the driver of the Nissan didn’t have time to do anything,” said Craig Stevens, a senior deputy county coroner.

The pickup struck the passenger side of the BMW that Feeney was driving, and the impact was substantial enough to smash the passenger-side door into the driver’s seat, Stevens said.

An off-duty Ventura County Fire Department captain who was driving in the area came upon the crash and performed CPR on Feeney, but her injuries were too severe and she died at the scene, authorities said.

Jones suffered internal injuries and cuts on her face and was being treated at Ventura County Medical Center in Ventura, where she was in stable condition Sunday night, a nursing supervisor said.

Both drivers were wearing seat belts, CHP officials said.

It was not known where Feeney was headed, but minutes before the crash occurred she had filled her gas tank at a Ventura service station, Stevens said.

And it was still unknown Sunday why she lost control of her car. Toxicology tests were being done to check for drugs or alcohol, Stevens said.

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 of West Hills.

“She always had it in the back of her mind, but hadn’t taken steps toward doing it,” said her mother, an assistant copy desk chief at the Valley and Ventura editions of The Times. “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, Jolie 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.

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Times staff writer Andrew Blankstein contributed to this story.