UPDATE - Fatal Traffic Collision
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01/18/2012
Incident: UPDATE - Fatal Traffic Collision
Contact: Sgt. Ryan Weeks,805-339-4309
Location: Harbor Blvd. west of San Pedro St.
Date of Press Release: January 18, 2012.
Date of Incident: December 30, 2011, 9:39 a.m.
Officer(s) Involved: Ventura Police Department Patrol Officers and Traffic Investigators
Involved Parties:
Party 1: Julia Rivas, 19 yr old Ventura Resident (Deceased)
Party 2: Tanya Northrop, 37 yr old Oxnard Resident
Report #: 11-14367
Narrative:
UPDATED INFORMATION WITH BLOOD ALCOHOL CONTENT AND CAUSE OF COLLISION
The Ventura Police Department has learned through the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s office that the toxicology results from the decedent, Julia Rivas, showed that she had a blood alcohol content of .19% at the time of her death. With this new information, the official cause of the collision will be listed as Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol.
The Ventura Police Department investigated 6 fatal traffic collisions in 2011. In three of those fatal traffic collisions, DUI was the cause of the collision. In a fourth collision, the pedestrian who was struck and killed had an extremely high blood alcohol content. Therefore, four of the six fatal traffic collisions in 2011 involved alcohol.
Additionally, the six fatal traffic collisions from 2011 is a 100% increase from the amount of fatal collisions investigated in 2010 by the Ventura Police Department. In 2010 there were three fatal collisions with none of them involving alcohol or drugs. In 2009 there were four fatal traffic collisions with none of them involving alcohol or drugs.
In an effort to help combat drunk driving, the Ventura Police Department regularly conducts DUI checkpoints as well as DUI saturation patrols with funds provided in a grant through the California Office of Traffic Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Narrative from press release issued on December 30, 2011:
On 12/30/11, at about 9:30 a.m., the Ventura Police Command Center received a 9-1-1 call regarding an injury traffic collision on Harbor Boulevard west of San Pedro Street in the City of Ventura. Multiple Ventura Police Patrol Officers responded to the scene along with Ventura Police Traffic Investigators and Ventura City Firefighters. Upon arrival, emergency personnel found one of the involved parties, Rivas, trapped in her Volvo sedan and unresponsive. Ventura Firefighters immediately checked on Rivas and determined that she was deceased. The driver of the other vehicle, Northrop, sustained minor injuries.
Ventura Police Traffic Investigators began an investigation into the cause of the collision. After a preliminary investigation, it appears that Rivas was alone in her vehicle and driving eastbound on Harbor Boulevard between Vista Del Mar Drive and San Pedro Street. Rivas’ vehicle, for unknown reasons, veered off of the roadway and onto the right side dirt shoulder. Rivas’ vehicle traveled in the dirt shoulder for a significant distance before re-entering the roadway. The vehicle then overcorrected and entered into the westbound lane of Harbor Boulevard. The other party, Northrop, was driving her full size Chevrolet pickup westbound on Harbor Boulevard when she saw Rivas losing control of her vehicle on the dirt shoulder. Northrop came to a stop in the westbound lane due to the fact that she believed Rivas was out of control. Rivas’ vehicle then collided with Northrop’s stopped vehicle. Rivas’ vehicle was turned sideways with the driver’s side of the vehicle facing Northrop’s vehicle when the contact occurred. This, in turn, crushed the driver’s side of the vehicle, trapping Rivas inside.
It does appear that all involved parties were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the collision. It is unknown at this time what caused Rivas’ vehicle to veer off of the roadway and onto the dirt shoulder.
Ventura Police Department Traffic Investigators are continuing their investigation of this collision. Some witnesses to the collision were identified at the scene. If there are any other witnesses to the collision they are urged to contact the Ventura Police Department Traffic Unit, at (805) 339-4309.
