Infant Dies From Crash Injuries
An infant died Wednesday after a vehicle carrying him, his mother and two siblings was struck head-on by a car driven by a suspected drunk driver at Rice Avenue and Sturgis Road, police said.
Seven-month-old Henry Valdez was pronounced dead Wednesday evening at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, after having been hospitalized Tuesday evening with critical head injuries. His mother, Maria Elena Gutierrez Lopez, 26, of Oxnard suffered internal injuries and was admitted to St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard Tuesday.
The other two children, 9-year-old Jasmine Valdez and 2-year-old Mariah Valdez, were treated at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura and released.
The accident occurred at 7:38 p.m. Tuesday when Lopez was driving her 1989 Honda southbound on Rice Avenue. Ozwaldo Antonio Pacheco, 29, of Los Angeles was driving a 1996 Infinity northbound in the southbound lane, and struck Lopez head-on, officials said.
Oxnard police said the Infinity had just been stolen. Police also said Pacheco, who was arrested on an outstanding warrant, may have been drinking before the accident. The investigation is continuing.
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