Van Hits Tree, Killing Infant
A 13-month-old Ventura boy died early Monday when his grandmother lost control of the family’s minivan on Pacific Coast Highway and it slammed into a eucalyptus tree, authorities said.
Juan Munoz died from massive head injuries at 1:10 a.m. at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, said Mike Feiler, an investigator with the Ventura County medical examiner’s office.
Three others in the 1987 Plymouth Voyager--driver Victoria Venegas, 44, and Juan’s mother and sister, Maria Hernandez, 20, and Maria Munoz, 5, all of Ventura--suffered minor injuries, authorities said.
According to the California Highway Patrol, Venegas was driving north about 12:30 a.m. when she lost control of the van near Wood Road and it spun out and struck a tree on the shoulder.
Although everyone in the van was wearing a seat belt, the impact with the tree crushed the van’s rear passenger side where Juan was sitting, authorities said.
The cause of the crash was under investigation, but authorities said the area where Venegas was driving has heavy road construction. Sections of the roadway are uneven, and lanes alternate between asphalt and dirt.
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