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According to CHP Officer Steve Reid, Juanita Ibarra, 29, of Santa Paula and her daughter, 6-year-old Jasmine Reyes, were pronounced dead at the scene after the 1999 Chevrolet Blazer they were riding in was struck broadside by a pickup truck. Ibarra, who along with her boyfriend was not wearing a seat belt, were ejected from the vehicle into a nearby orchard. Her daughter was wearing a restraint, but was seated at or near the point of impact, killing her instantly.
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Two killed in vehicle accident Sunday morning
February 10, 2010
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
A young girl and her mother were killed Sunday morning just before 10 a.m. in a traffic collision at Briggs Road and Santa Paula Street in Santa Paula, according to the California Highway Patrol. The location of the collision, in an unincorporated area west of Santa Paula, is the same where a popular community activist was killed under similar circumstances in May 2007.
According to CHP Officer Steve Reid, Juanita Ibarra, 29, of Santa Paula and her daughter, 6-year-old Jasmine Reyes, were pronounced dead at the scene after the 1999 Chevrolet Blazer they were riding in was struck broadside by a pickup truck.
Ibarra, who along with her boyfriend was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the vehicle into a nearby orchard. Her daughter was wearing a restraint, but was seated at or near the point of impact, killing her instantly.
Juanita Ibarra’s father, Enrique Ibarra, 56, of Ventura, was driving family members to the San Fernando Valley, where they planned to visit the gravesite of a deceased relative. Also inside the SUV was Enrique Ibarra’s wife, Maria Ibarra, 52, who was sitting in the front passenger seat. Lupe Rivera, Juanita Ibarra’s boyfriend whose age is not available, was riding in the back seat, and he was also ejected into the orchard.
According to the initial report, Enrique Ibarra was traveling southbound and had stopped at a stop sign on Briggs Road as Gabriel Salazar, 26, of Santa Paula was driving his 2004 Chevrolet pickup truck westbound on Santa Paula Street. According to Reid, as Salazar approached Briggs Road, Enrique Ibarra pulled out directly into his path.
Although Salazar hit his brakes and tried to avoid the collision, he was unable to stop from hitting the left rear side of the SUV, causing it to spin through the rural intersection. Aside from Juanita Ibarra and Rivera, all others involved in the accident were wearing seat belts.
A CHP officer was the first to arrive on the scene, and although he pulled Jasmine from the SUV and began to administer CPR, paramedics who arrived on the scene were unable to save her or her mother. Both mother and daughter were declared dead at the scene.
Rivera was transported by helicopter to Ventura County Medical Center, where he was listed in serious condition. Enrique and Maria Ibarra were taken by ambulance to Ventura County Medical Center, where they were treated and released. Salazar, who was on his way to visit a relative in Ventura at the time of the collision, was transported by ambulance to Santa Paula Hospital, where he was also treated and released.
The intersection was closed for three hours while the CHP conducted an investigation. Alcohol, according to Reid, was not a factor in the collision, which is still under investigation.
A similar accident occurred in May 2007 when Virginia Whittaker of Fillmore, an active volunteer in Santa Paula, was traveling northbound on Briggs Road. She stopped at the intersection before pulling out to cross Santa Paula Street when her car was struck by a vehicle traveling westbound.
Whittaker later died at an area hospital. Her grandson, a passenger in the car, and the driver that struck Whittaker’s vehicle were not seriously injured.
