OXNARD : Man, 19, Dies After Losing Control of Car

A 19-year-old Oxnard man was killed early Thursday when he lost control of his car on the Ventura Freeway near Telephone Road and crashed through a chain-link fence, hitting a brick wall and a light pole, authorities said.

Benjamin Madrigal was driving south on the freeway at 85 to 90 m.p.h., just south of the Telephone Road exit in Ventura, when his Honda veered out of control about 1:25 a.m., the California Highway Patrol said.

“For an unknown reason, (Madrigal) steered into the . . . center divider,” a CHP spokeswoman said. “He over-corrected to the right and drove across the southbound 101 traffic lane and the right shoulder . . . and struck a chain-link fence.”

Still skidding, the car crossed Valentine Road, which runs parallel to the freeway, slamming into a wall and a light pole before coming to rest, CHP spokeswoman Staci Morse said.

Madrigal suffered multiple blunt injuries, including head trauma, and was pronounced dead at the scene, said Ventura County Deputy Coroner Mitch Breese.

The cause of the accident was under investigation, Morse said.

Breese said routine toxicology tests will be done to determine if alcohol consumption was a factor in the accident. Results of those tests will not be available for several weeks, he said.