Street Racing Suspected in Death

It had been a happy occasion.

The Zermeno family was delighted to see their youngest grandchild in a Christmas program at a Ventura church.

But 65-year-old Jose Zermeno never made it home. He was killed Tuesday night when a teen who allegedly was drag-racing slammed into Zermeno’s red pickup on California 126.

Genaro Mejia, 18, of Santa Paula, whose car hit Zermeno’s, was treated for minor injuries at Santa Paula Memorial Hospital and released.

A spokesman for the California Highway Patrol said Wednesday that no arrests have been made pending a full investigation.

On Wednesday, Zermeno’s widow, Delfina, a third-grade teacher in Oxnard, grieved at home. One of his three grown daughters, also named Delfina Zermeno, couldn’t help but see a sad irony in her father’s death.

“He was such a slow driver,” she said. “He was like Mr. Perfect. He just couldn’t break the law.”

Zermeno had left the church in his pickup a few minutes before family members followed him back to his Santa Paula home in another vehicle. Slowly passing the accident scene just west of Briggs Road, they realized with horror that the victim was Jose.

“There’s no one like him around anymore,” his daughter said through her tears. “He was the most honest person you could ever meet.”

Witnesses told officers that Mejia and a 16-year-old passenger appeared to be racing another car on California 118 through Saticoy, occasionally crossing double yellow lines. Merging onto California 126, the two allegedly continued racing until Mejia’s 1999 black Chevy Malibu hit the rear of Zermeno’s pickup, according to the CHP.

Zermeno’s truck veered off the freeway and hit a tree. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Mejia smashed into a guardrail on the center divider.

The driver of the other car, described as a dark-colored Honda sedan with tinted windows and customized wheel rims, fled. He is being sought by police.

A resident of Santa Paula for about 40 years, Zermeno for years was a disc jockey and later was a sales manager at a car dealership. Most recently he was a custodian for the Santa Paula Elementary School District.

Mostly, though, he poured himself into activities with relatives, particularly his four young grandchildren.

“His family was his world,” his daughter said.