Victim identified in fatal ATV crash
Personal Injury News
Article Date: 10/30/2009 | Resource: MLG
Victim identified in fatal ATV crash
Reckless driving and alcohol may have contributed to a fatal all terrain vehicle crash northwest of Santa Paula on Thursday, authorities said.
A 24-year-old man was killed in the crash on Wheeler Canyon Road just north of Liveoak Avenue, authorities said. The crash victim was identified as Dalares Rodriguez Torres, of Fillmore, said Craig Stevens, a senior deputy Ventura County medical examiner.
CHP investigators determined Torres was riding an ATV recklessly at an unsafe speed about 5 p.m. when he drove off the east side of the roadway and struck a tree, said Officer Dave Webb of the Ventura CHP. Torres was not wearing a helmet, said the officer.
Torres was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, Webb said.
An autopsy today determined he died from blunt force head injuries, Stevens said.
Torres was apparently showing off for a couple of kids in the area and doing wheelies with two of the ATVs four wheels off the ground around the time of the crash, Webb said. Investigators suspect he had been drinking, Webb said.
No other ATV riders were involved in the incident and Torres was not suspected of racing as CHP officials initially reported, the officer said.
ATVs are generally prohibited on public roads because most do not meet the specifications for street-legal vehicles, authorities said. Wheeler Canyon Road is a county roadway.
For more information regarding this article please contact:
Jeffrey Marquart
(949)589-0150
jmarquart@marquartlawgroup.com