According to the California Highway Patrol, the incident was reported around 1:09 a.m. on Fairview Road, just east of Camp Ramah Road.
Ojai, CA. – One person died, and two others were hurt after an SUV went off-road and overturned early Friday morning in Ojai.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the incident was reported around 1:09 a.m. on Fairview Road, just east of Camp Ramah Road.
Investigators said a Ford Explorer was traveling westbound on Fairview Road when the driver reportedly failed to negotiate a left turn, causing the car to crash into a fence. The vehicle rolled down an embankment, hit a tree, and came to rest on its left side. Two passengers were trapped inside.
Emergency personnel from the Ventura County Fire Department found the driver unresponsive and pronounced them dead at the scene.
One of the passengers was hospitalized with major injuries, and the other with minor injuries.
Investigators said all the occupants were wearing seatbelts at the time of the collision.
The Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office responded to the scene following the fatality.
An investigation into the crash is ongoing.
Ventura County generally has traffic crash rankings better than many other counties in California when considered on a per capita basis, though it still faces significant challenges in specific areas of traffic safety, particularly regarding vulnerable road users. In a recent year (2020 data), Ventura County ranked 5th out of 61 comparable counties in total fatal and injury collisions. The county had 1,217 victims killed and injured in these collisions, with 149 of them involving alcohol. A notable concern highlighted by the data is the high ranking for specific collision types; for instance, the county ranked 1st in victims killed and injured involving a had-been-drinking driver under the age of 21, and 3rd in victims for bicyclists under the age of 15. Pedestrian safety is also a key issue, with the county ranking 11th in total pedestrian victims. Overall, the data indicate that while the total volume of crashes may be lower than in some larger counties, specific behavioral and demographic factors contribute to a persistent safety crisis that the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) and local partners work to address through targeted programs and education.
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