Fatality reported on Gonzales Road near Oxnard

Staff reports

A Santa Paula woman died after reportedly driving a Land Rover through a dirt field off Gonzales Road, west of Oxnard city limits, on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

The fatality, west of the intersection of Gonzales and Victoria Avenue, apparently took place minutes after the driver had been involved in a separate hit-and-run collision just north of the intersection.

The deadly crash was reported around 2 p.m. in the 4100 block of West Gonzales Road, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The CHP identified the driver as Deborah K. Allen, 36.

Minutes before the deadly crash, Oxnard Police Department officers had responded to a hit-and-run involving the 2012 Land Rover LR4 near Gonzales and Victoria, said police Cmdr. Luis McArthur. The Land Rover reportedly hit a Honda Civic before it fled the scene, he said. The driver of the Honda complained of pain but was not seriously hurt.

Prior to the hit-and-run, the police department had received calls saying the Land Rover had been seen driving erratically on southbound Victoria, McArthur said. Oxnard police are investigating the hit-and-run incident, which took place within city limits.

CHP Officer Jorge Alfaro said after the collision, Allen drove the Land Rover through a dirt field on the north side of Gonzales. As she traversed the field, she drove down a drainage ditch and hit the concrete edge of a private road. Allen was not wearing a seat belt, he said. As the Land Rover spun out of control, she was partially thrown from the vehicle, he said, and the right side of the Land Rover overturned onto her. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

CHP investigators are still investigating the cause, including whether drugs or alcohol may have been a factor.

Anyone who saw the crash or who has information is asked to call the CHP's Ventura-area office at 805-662-2640.