Fire shuts down Grapevine, fatal crash on PCH, more news



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Here is a summary of recent incidents and news from Ventura County and regional agencies:

Fire closes Grapevine north of Castaic

A bushfire in Los Angeles County closed Interstate 5 north of Castaic in both directions on Saturday afternoon, authorities said.

The so-called Route Fire was reported along the highway around 3:50 p.m. near the junction with Templin Highway.

California Highway Patrol officials said I-5 was closed to northbound drivers on Templin Highway. Heading south, the highway was closed at Vista Del Lago Road, according to a tweet sent around 4:40 p.m.

The estimated duration of the closure was not known.

Smoke from the blaze was visible in Piru, according to dispatch calls from the Ventura County Fire Department.

Check again: This item will be updated.

PCH deadly crash

VENTURA COUNTY – A crash involving two vehicles on the Pacific Coast Highway south of Mugu Rock on Saturday afternoon left one dead and three others seriously injured, according to initial reports.

The accident was reported shortly before 1 p.m. between the Sycamore Canyon and Deer Creek roads, according to reports from the California Highway Patrol and the Ventura County Fire Department. A vehicle is said to have overturned.

Shortly before 1:30 p.m., firefighters on site declared that one person had died. Three other patients were described as having serious injuries and a fourth patient reportedly had minor injuries. Some patients had to be extricated from the wreckage.

At least two Ventura County helicopters responded. Authorities closed the lanes of the coastal road for a while as the planes landed. A patient was airlifted to Ventura County Medical Center. Two other patients were taken to local hospitals, according to information gathered at the scene.

The incident blocked traffic along the coastal stretch as emergency crews worked at the scene. The highway remained closed for some time as investigators scanned the scene and crews cleared the road

The CHP Ventura office is investigating the fatal accident.

This item will be updated as more information becomes available.

Charges filed for alleged assault on a bicycle lane

VENTURA – Prosecutors have filed a complaint against the man from Ventura, 28, accused of attacking a woman in broad daylight on a bicycle path earlier this month.

Martin Valdez Arias was charged Thursday with felony and forcible confinement for assault and attempted sexual assault, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office reported. The complaint also alleges that Arias wrongly jailed the victim for his own sexual satisfaction and that he was convicted of a so-called “strike” offense, prosecutors said.

The incident was reported on September 1 at around noon on the bike path bordering Ventura Community Park on the south side of Route 126 west of Kimball Road. The woman, who did not know Arias, prosecutors said, was walking the path. Arias is said to have cycled by, then turned and randomly attacked her, the Ventura Police Department reported.

Arias appeared in Ventura County Superior Court on Thursday, represented by the Ventura County Public Defender’s Office, court records show. The indictment hearing continued until September 15, when a prosecution motion to detain him pending trial is also expected to be heard.

No plea was entered on Thursday. Arias remained in jail on Saturday on bail set at $ 500,000, although he could not be released.

Gunshots and stab wounds send victims to hospital

OXNARD – Authorities were investigating separate violent incidents that sent at least two people to hospital early Saturday, the Oxnard Police Department reported.

At around 1 a.m., gunshots were reported in an alleyway in the 1200 block of Hull Place. The block is in a residential area south of West Fifth Street, east of Ventura Road. Officers found a crime scene but no casualties, authorities said.

About 30 minutes later, a gunshot victim presented to the St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard with a lower body injury. The victim, a man in his 40s, was initially in serious condition although he stabilized by late morning, a police official said. No arrests had been made at noon.

At around 2 a.m., two men were injured in a knife attack in the 400 block of South Oxnard Boulevard, authorities said. The two victims apparently had an argument with a third man.

A man was taken by ambulance to Ventura County Medical Center. The injuries to the second victim appeared to be less severe, officials said.

The suspect, who is believed to be in his twenties, was not found at noon on Saturday.

New Commander for Ventura CHP

VENTURA – The California Highway Patrol’s Ventura office received a new commander this month, the agency reported on Friday.

Captain Jarod Primicerio will head the local office, succeeding Captain Jim Frost. The CHP periodically rotates the position. The agency’s Ventura office is located on Valentine Road. Another CHP office in Moorpark also serves Ventura County.

Primicerio, originally from Southern California, is a 23-year veteran of the agency. His past assignments include offices in Ventura, Santa Barbara, West Los Angeles, San Francisco and Solano. In Ventura County, he worked as a patrol officer and public information officer, according to the agency’s statement, and was instrumental in expanding the local Explorer program for young people interested in a career with the CHP.

He married his wife, Wendy, while he was previously assigned to Ventura’s office. In 2006, the family moved to Sacramento when Primicerio was selected to work at the Emergency Notification Tactical Alert Center. Special assignments during his career have included time as coordinator of the State-wide Drug Recognition Expert Program and as Deputy Inspector General at CHP Headquarters.

Primicerio received a master’s degree from CSU Dominguez Hills and recently graduated from the National Command and Staff College.

“I am delighted to be back home in Ventura and look forward to getting involved in the local community again,” Primicerio said in a statement.

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