Investigators are trying to determine what led to a bizarre head-on collision between a van and a police patrol car on the South Coast.
Oxnard Police were sent to the intersection of Fifth Street and Rose Avenue Friday night by reports of a van stopped on the railroad tracks. A patrol car reached the scene less than a minute later.
Officers say when they turned a spotlight on the van, it accelerated off the tracks. It first went against traffic on Fifth Street, and then the wrong way on Rose Avenue. It sideswiped a truck before smashing head-on into a patrol car.
The van’s driver turned out to be a confused 78-year-old woman. Investigators think she either had a medical or psychiatric issue. Fortunately, no one was hurt. The woman wasn’t arrested, but was taken to a hospital for observation.
