On Monday, February 27, at 10:15am, California Highway Patrol, Ventura County Fire Department and AMR Paramedics were dispatched to a reported head-on collision on WB SR-126 / Cavin Road, Fillmore. While firefighters were enroute to the location the call was
upgraded to a heavy rescue, with one of the vehicles involved in fire. Arriving firefighters found two vehicles with major damage; a silver Mercury and a white BMW. Firefighters began treating the patients at the scene; one person was pronounced deceased onsite, and two more additional patients were airlifted by copter and taken to Ventura County Medical Center (VCMC). Westbound and eastbound lanes were shut down until the scene was cleared; the crash is under investigation. According to the California Highway Patrol, “A 64-year-old man driving a 2000 Mercury was found trapped and his passenger, a 66-year-old woman, was unresponsive. Both are from Palmdale”, the CHP said. The woman died at the scene. Her name was not immediately released
pending notification of family. The man was transported to VCMC with major injuries. Both were wearing seatbelts. Initial CHP reports indicate the 64-year-old driver was headed eastbound on Highway 126 when, for unknown reasons, his vehicle drifted into oncoming westbound traffic. Officers noted weather was rainy, wet and cool and said the man was driving at an undetermined “high rate of speed” for the wet conditions. The Mercury hit a westbound 2013 BMW head-on. The CHP reported a 24-year-old Valencia woman driving the BMW was pulled from her vehicle, treated at the scene and also transported to the county medical center with major injuries. The crash closed the highway for about an hour as officers investigated, with traffic then alternating along eastbound lanes for a time. No arrests were made. It was not immediately known whether drugs or alcohol played a role, the CHP said in a release. Ventura County Fire responded and helped put out the vehicle fire. Any witnesses who haven’t already provided a statement are asked to call the CHP’s Moorpark-area office at 805-553-0800. Photo credit Gazette photographer Angel Esquivel-AE News.