Car Trying to Pass Hits Truck; 4 People Injured
Four Oxnard residents were injured Saturday morning, two critically, on California 118 at Somis Road when their car struck a semitruck and was sliced in half.
The 19-year-old driver of a 1983 Nissan Pulsar traveling west on the two-lane road about 6:30 a.m. was attempting to pass an Oldsmobile, when it hit the eastbound semitruck, said Bob Inman, California Highway Patrol spokesman.
“It seemed he was under the impression that the semi had only one trailer, so he pulled out and collided with the second trailer,” Inman said.
The Pulsar was sheared in halfbetween the front and back seats.
Two of the passengers, Eluterio Martinez, 18, and Tomas Martinez, 32, were in critical condition at Ventura County Medical Center.
The driver, Bernandino Martinez, was treated at St. John’s Medical Center in Oxnard and released.
His cousin, Esequiel Martinez, 44, was treated at the Oxnard hospital and transferred to Ventura County Medical Center on Saturday night.
Truck driver Arutyun Nersalyan, 31, of Los Angeles, was not injured.
California 118 was closed between Somis Road and North Street until 9:30 a.m. because of the accident.
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