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Investigators say sun might be factor in traffic accident causing death of Ventura County leader

The scene of the August 12 accident which left longtime community leader Carmen Ramirez fatally injured.
Tracy Lehr
/
KEYT
The scene of the August 12 accident which left longtime community leader Carmen Ramirez fatally injured.

Oxnard Police say alcohol and drugs weren't involved.

Investigators say the sun might have played a key factor in a traffic accident which fatally injured a Ventura County supervisor.

Carmen Ramirez was struck, and fatally injured by an SUV as she was crossing West Seventh Street in Oxnard August 12. Oxnard Police say she was in the crosswalk at the time.

Traffic investigators say the 38-year-old man driving the SUV tested negative for alcohol and drugs. He stopped at the scene of the accident, and cooperated with authorities. The driver was headed directly towards the setting sun, and they think the sun or glare might have impacted the driver’s visibility.

Ramirez served on the Oxnard City Council for a decade, and was the chair of the Ventura County Board of Supervisors. There’s no word yet on funeral plans.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.