A 19-year-old Oxnard man has died after his car collided with a bus at the intersection of Rose Avenue and Bard Road on Sunday morning. The crash shut down the intersection for hours before investigators cleared the scene.
Oxnard police officers were called to the scene around 7 a.m., according to the Ventura County Star. The young driver was rushed to Ventura County Medical Center, where he later died of his injuries.
How The Collision Unfolded
In a preliminary account, police said the car was heading south on Rose Avenue while the bus traveled west on Bard Road when the front of the car struck the rear axle of the bus. The bus was operated by the Ventura County Transportation Commission, and officials confirmed no passengers were aboard at the time of impact, according to the same report.
Investigators have not yet determined what caused the crash. The station's report notes it remains unclear whether speed or impairment by alcohol or drugs played a role, and the investigation is ongoing. The roads were closed for several hours as officers worked the scene before reopening shortly before noon.
A Dangerous Stretch Of Road
The crash adds to a string of recent tragedies along or near the same corridor. Just three days earlier, on Nov. 5, a 16-year-old girl was struck by a car and killed at Rose Avenue and Gonzales Road, per the same account from the Ventura County Star.
The Rose and Bard intersection itself has seen fatal collisions before. In a separate crash reported by archive.vcstar.com, 72-year-old Miguel Angel Serrato died after a vehicle traveling south on Rose Avenue struck his bicycle. Serrato had been riding west on Bard Road at about 5:10 p.m. that Sunday when he was hit.
No further details about the driver or the circumstances leading up to Sunday's crash have been released. Oxnard police have not said when the investigation is expected to conclude.
