Driver Held After Passenger Dies in Crash
A 29-year-old Simi Valley man suspected of driving under the influence was charged with vehicular manslaughter Thursday after his vehicle hit a parked big-rig off the Ventura Freeway in Calabasas, killing his passenger, authorities said.
Jeremy Weed, 26, of Simi Valley, was in the front passenger seat of a 1984 Ford Bronco when the driver, John Ball, crashed the Bronco into a truck parked on the dirt turnout south of the Las Virgenes Road exit about 5 a.m., said Officer Doug Reynolds of the California Highway Patrol.
Weed was ejected from the Bronco and died of multiple injuries, Reynolds said.
Ball is suspected of driving under the influence of either alcohol or drugs and allegedly fell asleep at the wheel, authorities said.
“The driver of the big-rig was sleeping when the Bronco hit him, but he wasn’t injured,” Reynolds said.
Ball was taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center and treated for minor injuries. He was later booked at the Lost Hills jail in Calabasas.
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