One person was killed and two people–including the driver–were injured in a car wreck that occurred the evening of Dec. 28 in Santa Maria, according to an officer from the California Highway Patrol.
The wreck happened at approximately 5:30 p.m. when a 1999 Chevrolet Blazer driven by 22-year-old Travis Dashek heading southbound on Highway 101 careened off the road and struck a sound wall and then a tree before catching on fire, said CHP officer Craig Carrier. The accident happened just past the Donovan Road exit on 101. The Blazer was hauling a boat trailer, and the car was reportedly seen moving erratically before crashing, Carrier said.
Both Dashek and one of the passengers, 21-year-old Kurt Hixenbaugh, were able to escape the burning vehicle, but the other passenger, Ashley Kerr, was trapped inside and couldn’t get out. She suffered head injuries and burns and later died at the scene.
Police aren’t providing any details as to what might have contributed to the crash. Carrier said that Dashek hadn’t been arrested; as of press time, the driver was being treated for a lacerated spleen at a nearby hospital. Hixenbaugh is currently in a hospital receiving treatment for a broken vertebra and isn’t facing any potential arrest. Both Dashek and Hixenbaugh are expected to recover.
All three of the car’s occupants are from Santa Maria, police said.
Kerr was 25 years old. Outpourings of grief by friends have been posted to her Facebook profile, which indicates that she had an affinity for tattoos and became a model for Central City Ink Magazine, a photo publication based in the Los Angeles area. Reached by phone, publisher and CEO Michael Farnell was shocked to hear of her death.
Farnell met Kerr two years ago through a mutual friend who owned a tattoo shop in Nipomo. He developed a working relationship with her and offered to photograph Kerr for his magazine. Although he wasn’t personally involved with Kerr, Farnell remembers her as a good person with a big heart who wanted to pursue modeling.
“She was just a very bright and positive person,” Farnell told the Sun over the phone. She was always willing to go to the next level and help everyone.”
This article appears in Jan 1-8, 2015.