3 Die in Ventura County Crashes

A motorist was killed Monday after a truck slammed into the back of her stalled vehicle on the southbound 101 Freeway in downtown Ventura, causing the car to burst into flames.

The accident occurred shortly after 2 p.m. when the woman’s Nissan Altima stopped in the middle lane of the freeway near the Main Street offramp, California Highway Patrol spokesman Steve Reid said. It was unclear why the car had stopped, he said.

A car swerved and missed the Altima, but the driver of a box truck failed to change lanes in time and smashed into the car, which spun around and ignited in flames.

A passerby tried to get the driver of the car out by smashing a window with a hammer, but the flames were too intense, Reid said. The woman, who was not immediately identified, died at the scene.

The southbound lanes of the freeway were closed for about 40 minutes, authorities said.

The accident was the third traffic fatality on county roadways in the last three days.

About 4 a.m. Sunday, a car driven by a 24-year-old resident of Mexico ran off California 118 near Camarillo, hit a natural gas line and overturned, the California Highway Patrol said.

Fire crews could not find a pulse for Oscar Ricardo Lopez, who was trapped in the car. Because of the danger, they called off efforts to remove Lopez until the gas line could be shut off. That occurred about 7 a.m. Sunday, and Lopez was pronounced dead at the scene.

On Saturday, Rafael Nova, 27, of Simi Valley died after fleeing from a DUI checkpoint in the 1700 block of Los Angeles Avenue and then crashing, authorities said.

Nova ran at least two red lights before crashing into two cars parked in a driveway in the 900 block of Erringer Road about 1:45 a.m., authorities said.

He was taken unconscious to Simi Valley Hospital and died at 2:48 a.m. of massive head injuries, police said.