Signal at Site of Tragedy Is Funded

More safety measures are planned for a stretch of Santa Rosa Road in Camarillo to prevent accidents like the one that killed a teenage girl last year as she jogged with her father.

In response to demands from angry residents, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to fund the final portion of a $200,000 traffic signal at Yucca Drive and Santa Rosa Road.

That intersection was the site of last year’s fatality, and the scene of other accidents and near-collisions that more than a dozen residents recounted in vivid and chilling detail at Tuesday’s meeting.

Bonny Matley of Camarillo told the board that her car was struck head-on by another vehicle while she was waiting to make a turn at the intersection.

Long delays at the corner are followed by sprints to merge onto Santa Rosa, a back-road shortcut used by about 20,000 commuters daily between the Conejo Valley and Camarillo, residents told the board.

“I was a near fatality,” Matley said. “I almost died. The traffic goes too fast, and we need a break to get into the flow of traffic.”

The board unanimously voted to use development fees to pay the remaining costs of a traffic signal to be installed early next year. The board had previously approved funding for a portion of the signal, as well as safety features including additional signs.

Paul and Dorothy Bonds filed a suit against the county this month on behalf of their daughter, Jennifer, 14, who was killed while cross-country training with her father one year ago.