2 Teens Die in High-Speed Crash on Ventura Freeway

Two Ventura County teenagers were killed in a high-speed crash early Friday after their car went out of control and flipped over on the Ventura Freeway near Seaward Avenue, California Highway Patrol officials said.

Patricia Yvette Castro, 18, of Ventura was driving a 1994 Honda northbound in the fast lane at 115 to 120 mph when the treads on the right tire split, Officer Katherine White said.

After the tire blew out, the car veered right, then spun out of control and struck a metal light pole with the driver’s side door. It then became airborne and struck several trees as it overturned. The car came to rest on its roof on an embankment on the east side of the freeway near the Seaward Avenue exit, White said.

Castro’s 15-year-old passenger, Sophia Elizarraras Monsivais, of Oxnard was thrown from the car and died, White said. Castro died on impact, she said.

“The tire just blew, more than likely because of the tremendous rate of speed,” White said.

The two died of head and chest injuries, according to Deputy Coroner Armando Chavez. Neither of them was wearing a seat belt, he said. The first call about the accident came to the CHP about 12:30 a.m., just after the crash, White said.