Friday, July 28, 2017 04:22PM
VENTURA, Calif. (KABC) -- The Ventura County Coroner's Office has identified the three people who died after a wrong-way driver slammed into a car on the 101 Freeway in Ventura.
The wrong-way driver was identified as Ramon Valencia Jr, a 34-year-old man from Santa Paula.
Police said Valencia slammed into a car driven by 25-year-old Brandon Thompson of Riverside. The passenger in Thompson's vehicle was identified as 28-year-old Rachel Cline of Lake Elsinore. Their dog was also killed.
The violent wreck happened on the southbound 101 Freeway near the Seaward Avenue exit at 12:03 a.m. Thursday.
A California Highway Patrol officer spotted Valencia's Toyota Scion getting on the freeway in the wrong direction at a very high rate of speed. According to police, Valencia was driving nearly 100 mph.
The officer tried to keep pace with the car on the other side of the freeway while calling additional units to help him, but it was too late. Valencia, Thompson and Cline were all pronounced dead at the scene.
One of two cars involved in a head-on crash is seen on the 101 Freeway in Ventura on Thursday, July 27, 2017.
The Ventura Fire Department says both cars were mangled. One went over a guardrail and the other came to a rest about 50 yards north of the crash.
Authorities are looking into whether drugs or alcohol played a role in the incident. Anyone who witnessed or has information about the crash is urged to call the Ventura Area CHP office at (805) 662-2640.
Most of the drunk (or impaired, in general) crashes occur in the early a.m hours, like this one. So, always be aware of these reckless, moronic lunatics who drink and drive and speed their way to their final destination. They will not be missed, but the innocent victims of their murderous behavior will be missed. RIP Brandon, Rachel and their dog "peeps".
A GoFundMe account was started to help the families pay for funeral expenses for Thompson and Cline: https://www.gofundme.com/narc7q-funeral-expenses
At about 12:10am today Brandon Thompson and his girlfriend Rachel Cline (Panda) were killed in a head on colision on the 101 freeway. They had spent the day in Ventura tothere and had a picnic and were headed home when this happened. Even their little dog "peeps" was killed in the accident.
Assistance for final expenses are needed by the family as no life insurance is available. Brandon was only 25 years old and Rachel was 28
years old and just starting their life together.
Any financial assistance will be so extremely helpful in this sudden horrible event as no money has been set aside for such circumstances.
If anyone has pictures of Brandon and/or Rachel (Panda) please send to my email account for memorial services. an email:gonecrazy1973@gmail.com Arrangements are pending.
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| Ramon Valenda, Jr - the crazy dirver who killed two people and their dog in Ventura. A GoFuckMe account was also started for this idiot and/or criminal |
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3 killed after wrong-way driver slams into another car on 101 Freeway in Ventura
VENTURA, Calif. (KABC) --
Three
people were killed after a wrong-way driver sped into oncoming traffic
and slammed into another car on the 101 Freeway in Ventura Thursday.The wreck occurred on the southbound 101 Freeway near the Seaward Avenue exit around midnight. A California Highway Patrol officer witnessed the driver getting on the freeway in the wrong direction. The officer said a black Toyota Scion was traveling at a very high rate of speed - close to 100 mph.
The officer tried to keep pace with the car on the other side of the freeway, but it was too late. The Scion collided head-on with a Nissan with two people inside. The driver of the Scion and the two people inside the Nissan were all pronounced dead at the scene.
The man and woman inside the Nissan were from the Riverside area, and the person inside the Scion was from Santa Paula, according to CHP. Their identities were not immediately released.
Authorities said drivers can protect themselves from such incidents by staying out of the fast lane.
"One tip that I might suggest is - if driving early morning hours, try to drive on the right-handed lanes. This suspect vehicle in this crash struck another vehicle, and that vehicle was traveling in the middle lane at the time," said CHP Sgt. Tom Webster
The crash was under investigation. Authorities are looking into whether drugs or alcohol played a role in the incident.
Multiple lanes on the 101 Freeway were shut down due to the wreck, but lanes have since reopened.
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Three people were killed when a wrong-way driver going about 100 mph slammed into another vehicle on 101 Freeway in Ventura, officials said Thursday.
A gray Nissan Versa is seen following a deadly crash in Ventura on July 27, 2017. (Credit: KTLA)
Emergency crews responded just after midnight to a collision on the southbound side of the freeway near Seaward Avenue, the Ventura City Fire Department stated in a news release.
Firefighters found two vehicles that were involved in a high-speed head-on collision.
One of the vehicles was hanging from the guard rail on Lemon Grove Bridge as the second vehicle came to a stop on the roadway about 50 yards to the north.
Three adults found inside the two vehicles were all pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Fire Department.
A vehicle involved in a deadly crash in Ventura is seen in July 27, 2017. (Credit: City of Ventura Fire Department)
The wrong-way driver was traveling on the center median and then in the fast lane of the 101 Freeway when the collision occurred, California Highway Patrol Sgt. Tom Webster said.
Authorities tracking the vehicle on the northbound side of the freeway recorded the driver’s speed at about 100 mph, Webster said.
The victim’s struck by the wrong-way driver had little chance to avoid the vehicle, said Webster, who offered advice to early morning drivers.
“In all practicality it’s much better in the early morning hours, when drunk drivers are out there … to drive in the right-hand lane,” Webster said.
Investigators have not said if drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash.
None of the those killed in the crash were immediately identified. The southbound 101 Freeway was down to one lane for several hours Thursday morning during the investigation