Roundup: Train hits big rig near Somis, more news

Here's a roundup of recent incidents and announcements from Ventura County agencies:

Train hits big rig near Somis

An Amtrak Surfliner train hit a semitrailer on Highway 118 in the Somis area Tuesday evening, shutting down the highway overnight.

Five people on the train suffered minor injuries and four were transported to local hospitals, authorities said.

The incident prompted the full closure of Highway 118 between Balcom Canyon Road and Highway 34, also known as Somis Road.

The route had fully reopened by 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, before the morning commute, California Highway Patrol officials said, after removal of the big rig and after road repairs were complete. A partially derailed train car had been put back on the tracks and was rolled to the yard.

The collision was reported near the intersection with Sand Canyon Road shortly after 6:15 p.m. along the 118, also called Los Angeles Avenue, according to Ventura County Fire Department and CHP reports.

The crossing is east of Highway 34 on a stretch that cuts through mostly agricultural fields.

About 95 passengers and five crew members were on board the southbound train, which had been headed to Los Angeles. All but one of the injured patients was able to walk out, firefighters' radio traffic indicated.

Firefighter Andy VanSciver, a spokesperson for the county department, said the train's lead passenger car was being pushed by the locomotive at the time of the impact. The lead car partially derailed but remained upright. The train reportedly had six passenger cars in all.

The driver of the semitrailer was uninjured, officials said. A photo from the scene showed the tractor intact next to train tracks. The driver was out of the vehicle at the time of impact, according to the CHP.

The semitrailer had been crossing the tracks from the south side of the 118 at the time, said Officer Ryan Ayers of the CHP's Moorpark-area office. The big rig was traveling north on Sand Canyon, which takes a jog on the south side of the highway, he said. The crossing is controlled by lights and arms.

The driver had been crossing legally, while the arms were up, but the big rig became disabled while on the tracks, Ayers said. The CHP will investigate the cause, he said, although initial evidence indicates the semi may have been disabled by the grade.

The big rig's trailer was empty at the time, Ayers said. The tank-type trailer is generally used for hauling grain, he said.

The tractor and the trailer ended up on either side of the train tracks, said the fire department's VanSciver.

An apparent fluid leak at the scene was determined to be nonhazardous and normal for the situation, fire officials said.

Shooting victim named

Authorities have identified the teenager killed by gunfire last week in south Oxnard.

Jaime Lagunas, 16, was an Oxnard resident, according to the Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office. He died of gunshot wounds of the chest and head, the agency reported.

Oxnard Police Department officers responded around 8 a.m. Thursday to the 200 block of West Clara Street for reports of a gunshot victim.

The 911 caller told dispatchers he was taking Lagunas to a hospital, and officers found the two near Oxnard Boulevard and Date Street, where Lagunas was provided with emergency medical care before being taken by ambulance to Ventura County Medical Center. He underwent emergency surgery at the hospital but did not survive.

Police have described the homicide, the city's seventh this year, as gang related. As of Tuesday no arrests had been made.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Meagan Tobey at 805-385-7755 or at meagan.tobey@oxnardpd.org.

Robbery suspects sought

Authorities are searching for two men who are believed to have followed a woman from a bank and robbed her Monday evening in Thousand Oaks.

The incident was reported around 5 p.m. in the 2000 block of Pleasant Way, said Ventura County Sheriff's Capt. James Sullivan. The city of Thousand Oaks contracts with the sheriff's office for police services.

The men allegedly smashed the passenger side window of the car driven by the victim and took her purse containing $2,500, the captain said.

No description of the suspects was available, but their vehicle was described as a four-door Chevy or GMC truck.

String of local robberies draw federal charges

A 30-year-old suspect arrested in Oxnard last week faces federal charges for a series of alleged robberies in November.

Oscar Silva, 30, has been accused of carrying out robberies in Oxnard and Ventura, according to the Oxnard Police Department and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.

The criminal complaint specifically charges Silva with using a gun to rob a food truck in Oxnard and alleges he committed four other armed robberies, federal prosecutors said in a news release.

Silva allegedly carried out five armed robberies between November 6 and November 23 in Oxnard and Ventura, according to an affidavit filed with the federal complaint. Prosecutors say he robbed two street food vendors, a smoke shop and a convenience store in Oxnard.

Silva is also accused of robbing a female pedestrian near Mission Park in downtown Ventura, taking her purse and credits cards and later using the cards to buy several hundred dollars worth of items.

Silva allegedly brandished a firearm and threatened his victims during each of the robberies.

On Dec. 7, Oxnard police arrested Silva on an outstanding warrant related to the investigation.

The federal complaint alleges a so-called Hobbs Act robbery, a federal crime that involves interstate or foreign commerce. Such a crime can bring a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison.

The investigation is being conducted by the Ventura County Violent Gang Task Force, which includes includes the FBI, the Oxnard Police Department, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and the Ventura Police Department.

During a hearing in district court in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday, a federal magistrate judge ordered Silva jailed without bond, authorities said. Silva’s arraignment is scheduled for January 22 in Los Angeles.

Items may be updated.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Roundup: Train hits big rig near Somis, more news