Crash Victim Was Simi Valley Man, 21
A man who was killed when his car struck a light pole in Newbury Park has been identified as Matthew Dean Farren, 21, of Simi Valley.
Farren, a paint store employee and the son of a retired Los Angeles police officer, died Monday night as a result of head injuries and smoke inhalation, coroner’s officials said.
Authorities said Farren was on Ventu Park Road attempting to enter the southbound Ventura Freeway onramp about 9:30 p.m. when he lost control of his 1971 Volkswagen Bug and struck the light pole.
An off-duty sheriff’s deputy was driving in the area and heard the crash, officials said. The deputy, a friend of Farren’s father, tried to pull the young man from the wreckage, but he could not be freed.
The car was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, and Farren was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.
Investigators are seeking a cause for the crash, but they believe excessive speed was a factor. Friends of Farren’s told authorities he had been drinking alcohol at a bar before the crash, coroner’s officials said.
Toxicology tests to determine Farren’s blood-alcohol level will be completed in about eight weeks.
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