According to California Highway Patrol reports, Ricardo Briseno, 27 of Fillmore, died Monday morning as a result of crashing his car into a drainage ditch adjacent to Highway 126 near Fillmore.
Apparently no one witnessed the 5 a.m. accident, which was reported more than a half-hour after the incident. Briseno was headed east on Highway 126 when his vehicle left the south side of the roadway, spun around on a dirt shoulder, hit a sign post before skidding across five lanes, colliding with a guard rail, and landing in a drainage ditch.
The cause of the crash is not known. Briseno is reported to have been wearing a seat belt. He suffered massive blunt-force trauma and internal injuries, and had to be freed from the wreckage by Ventura County Fire Department personnel. Briseno was pronounced dead at 7:48 a.m. at Santa Paula Hospital.