Members of the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District are mourning the deaths of two Pioneer Valley High School students who were killed in a car crash near Ventura during the early morning hours of June 22.
According to officers with the California Highway Patrol station in Ventura, the 2013 Honda Accord driven by one student was headed northbound on Highway 101 just outside of Ventura when it veered off to the shoulder and crashed into the back of a semi-truck.
The crash occurred at 1:25 a.m., and the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel, according to the CHP.
“It appears that the driver possibly fell asleep and veered off to the right and slammed into the back of a semi-truck on the shoulder,” said CHP Officer Ron Erickson.
The car was carrying four passengers at the time. Erickson said the driver and the left rear passenger—both students at PVHS—were killed in the crash.
Two other passengers were transported to a nearby hospital where they were treated for head injuries as well as injuries to the lung, spleen, and hip, Erickson said. It’s not clear if they were also students at PVHS.
Erickson said the semi-truck driver was not injured and may not have even been in the truck at the time of the crash. Erickson said the identities of the passengers aren’t being released at this time.
The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District community is devastated. Officials in the school district are offering counseling services to students and faculty in connection with the accident, according to a district spokesman.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of these young people,” Superintendent Mark Richardson said in a statement.
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 2, 2015.