Crash of CHP Car Kills Teen

An 18-year-old Oxnard woman was killed early Saturday when a California Highway Patrol cruiser pursuing another vehicle accidentally rammed the car in which she was riding.

Jessica Ann Mohorko died at the scene.

CHP Officer Jack Raughton was chasing a speeding vehicle about midnight on Highway 1 near Gonzales Road in Oxnard, according to the CHP. Raughton’s wife, Officer Christina Raughton, was a passenger in the patrol car.

A 1994 Nissan Sentra driven by Christopher Edward Haynes, 18, of Port Hueneme was stopped in a left-turn lane on the highway, preparing to turn onto Gonzales, authorities said. As he started the turn, the CHP car smashed into the Nissan’s passenger side.

Haynes had a broken arm and was taken to St. John’s Regional Medical Center. Mohorko suffered multiple blunt-force injuries, according to a spokesman for the Ventura County coroner’s office.

The officers were treated for abrasions at Ventura County Medical Center.

The vehicle they were chasing got away.

CHP investigators are trying to determine how fast the vehicles were traveling.

Highway 1 was closed until 11:30 a.m. as police investigated the accident.

In an unrelated crash, a 43-year-old Oak View man was killed Saturday morning in a collision on Santa Ana Road.

Daniel Fraser’s car was hit by a sport utility vehicle that veered into his path, according to police. He was pronounced dead at the scene.