Navy Man Killed in Head-On Crash; 4 People Hurt

A 24-year-old enlisted man based at the Point Mugu naval base was killed and four others were injured when two cars crashed head-on early Saturday on Hueneme Road, the California Highway Patrol said.

Christopher Barnes, 24, was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after 2 a.m. when the car in which he was a passenger collided with a pickup truck driven by a suspected drunk driver, the CHP said.

The driver of the car, Charles Andrew Kresol, 26, also is enlisted in the Navy and based at Point Mugu, the CHP said. He was taken to St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard and treated for injuries that included a broken leg. He was in fair condition late Saturday, a nursing supervisor said.

Tyrone J. Mauch, 26, also a passenger in the car and an enlisted man at Point Mugu, suffered various injuries, including a dislocated hip. He was transported to St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo where he remained in fair condition Saturday evening, a nursing supervisor said.

The trio of Navy personnel were returning to Point Mugu and heading east near the Pacific Coast Freeway when a westbound pickup truck driven by Jose L. Castro, 28, of Oxnard, swerved into the opposing lane, the CHP said.

Castro’s passenger, Tino Valdez Bravo, 29, of Oxnard, was treated for minor facial injuries at St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital and released, the CHP said.

Castro, who received minor injuries, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and booked into Ventura County Jail, the CHP said.

Kresol--who the CHP said had elected himself designated driver--was driving his passengers back to the base for the night after they had been out for the evening.