OXNARD : Mystery Screams, Crash on Halloween

On Halloween night in an Oxnard beach neighborhood, screams were heard from the water, sparking an extensive sea search.

Three hours later at the same spot, a car catapulted over a sand berm, and the injured driver had to be rescued.

The incidents were not related, police said.

At about 9:30 p.m., an off-duty Oxnard police officer heard screams for help at Mandalay Beach, said Oxnard Police traffic investigator Tom Chronister. But the officer could not determine if the screams were coming from the beach or the water.

Coast Guard and sheriff’s helicopters, a Coast Guard rescue cutter and an Oxnard fireboat were summoned. Nothing amiss was found.

“We thought we had someone in the water,” Chronister said.

Then at 12:30 a.m. Friday, a speeding 1985 Chevrolet El Camino, westbound on Fifth Street, catapulted over an eight-foot berm and crumpled on the sand 50 feet away, Chronister said.

“It was like going off a launch pad,” he said.

It took the Oxnard Fire Department 45 minutes to extract driver Gerardo Gutierrez Casillas, 19, of Oxnard from the car. He was taken to St. John’s Regional Medical Center and then transferred to Ventura County Medical Center with facial cuts and internal injuries.

Passengers Carlos Reyna, 17, and Marcelino Reyna, 15, both of Oxnard, were taken to St. John’s with broken bones, cuts and internal injuries.

Police said Carlos Reyna crawled to a nearby residence and asked for help. Marcelino Reyna was thrown onto rocks near the car, police said.

Police said chemical tests will be done to determine whether Casillas was driving under the influence.