MOORPARK : Driver Charged After Fleeing Fatal Crash
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A Long Beach man who allegedly left his fatally injured nephew at the scene of a head-on collision near Moorpark on Christmas Eve pleaded not guilty Thursday in Ventura County Municipal Court to charges of vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol.
Raul Ortega, 31, is being held in Ventura County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled Jan. 11.
Ortega and his 18-year-old nephew, Miguel Nunez-Ortega, were traveling west on Tierra Rejada Road just east of the Moorpark Freeway when their car crossed the double-yellow line and hit a van head-on, according to officials at the California Highway Patrol.
Ortega, who was driving the car, left the scene, abandoning Nunez-Ortega in the car, officials said. Ortega collapsed nearby and was detained by the CHP.
Nunez-Ortega died on Christmas Day at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks after undergoing surgery for massive head injuries.
Ortega, who appeared in the courtroom Thursday with a cast on his right arm, suffered minor injuries in the accident.
The driver of the van, Jay Goodman, 45, of Moorpark, also suffered minor injuries and was treated at Simi Valley Hospital and released.
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