Crash Kills Passenger; Driver Is Arrested

A 33-year-old Ventura man was killed Saturday night after the driver of a pickup truck in which he was riding lost control and struck a palm tree on Ventura Avenue.

Authorities said they believe alcohol was a factor in the crash.

Marty James Companion was pronounced dead at the scene, said Craig Stevens, senior deputy medical examiner in the Ventura County coroner’s office. The driver, 31-year-old Eric Taylor of Ventura, was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI and remained in critical condition at Ventura County Medical Center on Sunday afternoon.

Taylor was driving fast, heading south on Ventura Avenue about 10 p.m. Saturday, said Marsha Derma, a California Highway Patrol dispatcher. He lost control of the vehicle after letting it drift onto the right dirt shoulder and trying to maneuver back onto the road, Derma said. The truck then spun around and slid across Ventura Avenue and crashed into a palm tree on the passenger’s side.

The driver was not wearing a seat belt, Derma said, and was thrown partway through the windshield. Authorities had to extricate him from the truck. Police reported Taylor smelled of alcohol, and they found beer inside the vehicle, Derma said.