CHP Reports 4 Fatalities on Highways Over Holiday

The holiday weekend proved to be the most deadly on the county’s freeways in at least two years, fueled in part by drunk drivers, the California Highway Patrol said Tuesday.

The CHP reported four traffic fatalities for the period beginning Friday and ending midnight Monday. There were 23 accidents on local highways, six involving suspected drunk drivers.

“Four [fatalities] is a lot for any weekend,” Officer Scott Peterson said.

Over the four-day period, officers arrested 24 motorists on suspicion of drunk driving, Peterson said. During last year’s three-day Christmas weekend, he said, there were eight accidents and 10 drunk-driving arrests.

Monday night, a pedestrian attempting to cross the Ventura Freeway was struck and killed near the Ventura Avenue offramp. Authorities declined to identify the man until his relatives had been contacted.

The 28-year-old victim was carrying little identification, but authorities believe he has family in Mexico, said deputy medical examiner Mike Feiler.

An alleged drunk driver took the lives of two brothers who died the morning of Christmas Eve when their car was hit from behind and forced into oncoming traffic lanes on California 126. Brothers Humberto Preciado, 45, of Fillmore and Jesus Preciado, 53, of Mexico, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Maurilio Garcia, 22, was arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and driving under the influence in that accident.

On Saturday, a Santa Paula man was killed when his vehicle crossed into oncoming traffic on Walnut Canyon Road in Moorpark. Saul Gaeta, 27, was taken to Simi Valley Hospital, where he died of his injuries. Authorities said alcohol was not a factor in his death.

Freeways were heavily congested as the day wore on Tuesday as holiday drivers returned from family visits or ventured out for a day of gift returns and bargain-hunting. A fire that burned 600 acres of Thousand Oaks didn’t cause any freeway backups, Peterson said.