Wake-Up Call for Drivers About Sleep, Alcohol

A few hours of sleep after a night of drinking isn’t necessarily a buzz kill.

The issue cropped up recently after a Pasadena real estate agent slammed head-on into a pickup truck in Fillmore and killed the driver, 40-year-old Santa Paula landscaper Jose Lopez, authorities say.

Investigators think that Kevin Hurley had a few after golfing, then had a few more before dinner prior to going to bed at home and rising July 8 to make an early tee time in Santa Barbara.

Five hours after the 5:30 a.m. crash on California 126, Hurley’s blood-alcohol level measured just under the legal limit--a sign, say police, that despite having slept, he had been driving while allegedly intoxicated.

Now the 27-year-old sits in Ventura County Jail on charges of hit-and-run, manslaughter and drunk driving. His bail was set at $535,000. Arraignment is scheduled next week.

“If you insist on drinking, you have to mellow out for a long, long time before driving,” said Scott Peterson, a California Highway Patrol officer who investigated the crash.

Peterson said Hurley’s life is forever changed. Lawsuits and attorney fees can drag out a case for years, not to mention the sobering reality that a father of three children died.

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As long as we are talking about responsibility, fires along the Ronald Reagan Freeway in Simi Valley have made the north side of the road look more like a barbecue grill than a grassy knoll.

According to Sandi Wells of the Ventura County Fire Department, there have been 14 brush fires along a one-mile stretch near Rocky Peak Road since fire season started in mid-May.

There were three fires one afternoon last week.

“There’s been a huge growth of grass this year and it’s all dead, so there’s a lot of fuel there,” Wells said. “This is a much larger number of these small fires in that area than in past years.”

Although none of the blazes consumed more than an acre, Wells said the problem will continue unless motorcyclists and semi truckers start using legally required spark arresters--mesh screens that cover mufflers.

In nearly every case, fire officials believe that traffic heading west into Ventura County sparked the late afternoon fires.

Besides an owner’s legal responsibility to maintain any vehicle, Wells reminds drivers that each fire response, even for just a little burning bush, costs several thousand dollars.

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It’s not Mayberry anymore folks, so lock it up or chain it down.

Port Hueneme police say they have another burglary problem. Items inside more than two dozen vehicles and garages have been ripped off since June in two condo communities surrounding Bolker Drive.

Just like in January, when someone broke into three homes on Hueneme Bay, police say thieves are getting most of the loot through unlocked doors. In a few cases, windows were smashed or a convertible top sliced open.

In the recent rash, residents have reported stolen compact discs, tools, cell phones and stereo equipment, Port Hueneme Police Sgt. Ken Dobbe said.

Police think that more than one person has been committing the crimes because six reports were taken one night last month, and it would have been hard for one person to get to all of the sites, Dobbe said.

Although police believe the thieves sell the items for drug money, few leads have cropped up from pawn shops or individuals. Most of the burglaries have occurred between midnight and 5 a.m.

“It is a high-density residential area where there are people coming and going at all times of night and day, so we would just ask that the occupants be very aware of their surroundings,” Dobbe said.

It can’t hurt. Anyone who gives the cops a good tip about these burglaries--and you can do it anonymously--will get $1,000.

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And finally this item from the stupid tricks file.

Two 17-year-old Buena High School students were busted recently after reportedly breaking into their campus cafeteria in Ventura and stealing several boxes of food.

The teens were cited for burglary and released to their parents, but you have to wonder how desperate they were for a bite that they would allegedly steal cafeteria food.

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Holly J. Wolcott can be reached at 653-7581 or holly.wolcott@latimes.com