An Oxnard man is facing drunken-driving and vehicular-manslaughter charges stemming from a vehicle accident that killed a 2-year-old girl and a 20-year-old woman and injured three other passengers, the California Highway Patrol said Thursday.
Rogelio Vasquez, 21, was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail following the crash, which occurred about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday on Highway 101, just north of Clark Avenue.
He was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, according to jail staff.
Ophelia Lorenzo, 20, and Maribel Vasquez, 2, both of Oxnard, died at Marian Medical Center moments after their arrival, the CHP said. Lorenzo reportedly was the driver's wife.
Vasquez was heavily intoxicated while driving the 1990 Ford Aerostar, the CHP said.
According to a preliminary investigation, Vasquez allowed the van to drift into the dirt median. The vehicle then spun clockwise and rolled twice, ejecting Rogelio Vasquez, 21-year-old Cornelio Vasquez, Maribel Vasquez and Lorenzo.
None of them was wearing a seat belt, the CHP said.
The Oxnard family was heading to Salinas, said CHP Officer Gus Lopez.
Rogelio Vasquez and Cornelio Vasquez were treated for lacerations, scrapes and scratches at Marian.
The other two passengers - 1-year-old Rutilia Vasquez and 18-year-old Rosio Vasquez - were not ejected but reportedly crawled out of the wreckage. Rutilia Vasquez suffered unknown major injuries, but on Thursday she was listed in good condition at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
Rosio Vasquez complained of pain to the head, the CHP said.
Amateur photographer Andrew Klein, 24, of Orcutt heard the call on a police scanner, and rushed to the scene with his camera.
Klein said he found the wreckage in the center divider of Highway 101, just beyond the Clark Avenue northbound offramp. The red van was resting on its driver side.
Klein said he saw bags of teddy bears and children's clothes scattered on the roadway and the dirt divider. He commented that this was no ordinary crash because it involved children.
“It just kind of makes you appreciate what you have at home if you have children,” he said.
Luis Ernesto Gomez can be reached at 739-2218, or lgomez@lompocrecord.com
August 3, 2007
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