Ventura Girl, 17, Killed in Minivan Crash

By PAMELA JOHNSON and JASON TAKENOUCHI

Aug. 31, 1998 12 AM PT

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

VENTURA — A Buena High School senior, whose mother described her as “my rainbow child,” was killed in a traffic accident Sunday after being thrown 60 feet from the back seat of a minivan while she was sleeping.

The crash occurred at 9:45 a.m. while Meghan McCormick, 17, was en route home with two friends from a concert near Valencia, CHP officials and McCormick’s family members said.

The trio, which had been up until about 4 a.m. Sunday, were traveling westbound on California 126 with friends following in a caravan when Nathan Fletcher Rasmussen, 18, of Ventura, lost control of his minivan for unknown reasons, CHP spokeswoman Kathleen Foster said. Members of McCormick’s family said Rasmussen blew a tire.

Rasmussen’s van hit the center divider, spun out and skidded backward across the highway before striking the metal guard rail along the right lane.

The van’s rear window was missing at the time of the accident. In its place, a sheet of plastic was taped over the window’s opening, according to family members. McCormick, who was asleep in the back of the vehicle and not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the opening and landed in a concrete drainage ditch, officials said.

When paramedics arrived, McCormick was in full cardiac arrest. Her pulse was restored at the crash site and she, along with Rasmussen and a 16-year-old female passenger, were taken to Ventura County Medical Center. McCormick died at the hospital, never regaining consciousness. The other girl’s name was not released.

Rasmussen and the unidentified girl were treated at the hospital for minor injuries and released.

A steady stream of McCormick’s friends visited her east Ventura home on Sunday to comfort family members.

McCormick’s mother, Leslie, 48, said she did not blame Rasmussen for her daughter’s death. She said Meghan and her friends had gone to the Saturday night concert and camped out nearby. They had originally planned to return home late Sunday but left early because of the heat.

“Meghan was unseatbelted and that’s an important issue,” Leslie McCormick said. “She knew better than that. I don’t want this young man to blame himself.”

The third of Leslie McCormick’s five children, Meghan was described as a bright student who had a unique sense of style. She was excited that she had scored well on a U.S. history aptitude exam, which gave her college credit. Meghan considered attending UC Santa Cruz, where her 19-year-old sister, Shea, is a student.

She loved swing dancing, writing poetry, browsing at thrift shops and listening to a wide range of music--from the Beatles to Beethoven. She had a special affection for animals: She had six cats and a cockatiel named Amadeus.

“While she was away, her bird flew off last night,” Leslie McCormick said. “We were so upset. We didn’t know how we were going to tell her.”

Meghan’s bedroom reflects the interests of many teenagers. There is a bulletin board packed with snapshots of her sister, brother, other family and friends with their arms around her shoulder, smiling. Several videotapes such as “Father of the Bride” and music CDs by artists including Jewel and Cat Stevens were strewn near her futon bed next to her phone.

She also had a large Beatles poster from the “Abbey Road” album above her bed and paperback books such as “All the President’s Men,” “The Quiet American” and “A Tale of Two Cities” on her dresser.

“She had an intense, intellectual mind,” said Chris Lawler, 37, who has lived with the family for the past dozen years. “She was a flower child.”

On her wall hung a poem a friend had written her. It began, “My rainbow child with a sunshine smile and a flower in your hair . . . “

“That describes her beautifully,” Leslie McCormick said. “She was my rainbow child.”