Thousand Oaks Motorist Held in Fatal Car Accident

A Thousand Oaks man was arrested on suspicion of felony manslaughter after the car he was driving crashed into a power pole Saturday morning, killing his passenger, Los Angeles police said.

Joseph Romagnano, 28, was heading north about 10 a.m. on Topanga Canyon Boulevard near Lassen Street, when he lost control of his car, said LAPD Officer Chris Rowland.

Rowland was traveling south in his squad car on Topanga Canyon Boulevard at the time and saw the accident.

Romagnano’s car was traveling about 65 mph when it hit the center divider, spun around, knocked down a bus stop sign and crashed into the pole in front of a gas station, Rowland said.

“Thank goodness there were no pedestrians,” he said.

When Rowland got to the scene, the passenger was dead and the driver was sitting on the curb, yelling for help, he said.

Firefighters, using the “Jaws of Life,” removed the car’s roof to reach the passenger, who had been wearing a seat belt, authorities said. Police have not confirmed the identity of the victim, a man thought to be in his 20s.

Romagnano was treated for minor injuries at Northridge Hospital Medical Center before being transferred to Twin Towers jail in downtown Los Angeles.

He was allegedly under the influence of an unknown drug at the time of the crash, said Officer Walter Hogue of LAPD Valley Traffic Division.