Head-On Crash Kills Santa Paula Landscaper

A Santa Paula father of three was killed on his way to work Saturday when a suspected drunk driver veered across California 126 near Fillmore and slammed into his pickup truck, authorities said.

Jose Lopez, a 40-year-old landscaper, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The California Highway Patrol arrested Pasadena resident Kevin Hurley, 27, on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, felony hit and run and felony drunk driving.

Hurley was driving westbound at about 5:30 a.m. when his green 1993 Toyota Land Cruiser veered into the eastbound lanes, swiping a white passenger car before hitting the Lopez’s blue Toyota head on, CHP Officer Aaron Keller said.

Lopez was not wearing a seat belt, Keller said. The driver of the white car was uninjured.

After the accident, Hurley, who sustained only minor injuries, was seen walking down the highway shoulder near Old Telegraph Road.

“While the witnesses were checking on everybody else, he disappeared,” Keller said.

Authorities searched the area and within an hour found Hurley inside a toolshed at a house less than a mile from the crash scene.

Keller said Hurley, a real estate agent, appeared to be intoxicated. He was being held at the Ventura County Jail in lieu of $535,000 bail Saturday evening.

Jail officials said Hurley had arrest warrants from Los Angeles and Orange counties for speeding, driving with a suspended license and misdemeanor battery.

Saturday’s accident briefly closed the eastbound lanes of California 126. It was the third fatal collision on the rural highway in the past two months.

A 76-year-old Fillmore man was hit by a car June 27 while riding a bicycle near Fillmore. A 34-year-old Pacoima man was killed on May 12 during a head-on collision just east of the city limits.

A second traffic accident Saturday afternoon closed both lanes of the highway for two hours when a vehicle struck a power pole, CHP officials said. The highway was reopened about 5:30 p.m.