Crash During Street Race in Oxnard Leaves 3 Injured

One of two drivers who were illegally racing in Oxnard on Saturday afternoon at speeds of over 80 mph caused a crash that injured three people, authorities said.

The incident marks the third time in less than a year that county residents have been injured or killed during a street race.

Saturday’s crash occurred shortly before 2 p.m. at Ventura Road and Devonshire Drive when Javier Farias lost control of his gray Dodge Neon, Oxnard Police Sgt. Jack Kujawa said.

Farias and his passenger, both of Oxnard, suffered moderate head, neck and back injuries and were being treated Saturday night at a hospital. The driver of a passing truck struck by Farias’ car suffered a minor neck injury.

The victims’ conditions were not immediately available, but authorities said the injuries were not life-threatening. The driver of a white BMW who had been racing Farias fled the scene of the crash and had not been found as of late Saturday.

According to Kujawa, Farias and the BMW driver were racing southbound on Ventura Road when, as they approached Devonshire Drive, Farias lost control of his car, sideswiped the truck and struck a curb. The vehicle then slammed head-on into a palm tree, snapping it in half, then struck a second tree and rolled over before coming to rest upright on Ventura Road.

In April, a 19-year-old Oxnard mother was killed when her boyfriend lost control of his car while drag racing in the nearby community of El Rio. In early December, a 65-year-old Santa Paula grandfather was fatally injured on California 126 near Santa Paula when his car was struck by an 18-year-old boy who was illegally racing.