Violent carjacking in Ventura leaves victim, suspect with major injuries
A woman was reportedly beaten by a group that included juveniles during a violent carjacking in midtown Ventura late Thursday night, authorities said.
The incident also left one of the suspects hospitalized with major injuries suffered in a crash as he tried to flee from police.
The carjacking took place around 11:30 p.m. in the 300 block of South Borchard Drive, according to the Ventura Police Department. The block is in a commercial area on the south side of Thompson Boulevard where a thrift store, grocery store, restaurant and other businesses operate.
The woman, a 46-year-old Ventura resident, had planned on making a charity donation at a collection facility in the area, authorities said. She had parked on Borchard and gotten out of her vehicle when another car stopped near her and several people got out.
The woman was reportedly approached by three or four females who demanded money and property. When the victim told them she had no money, the subjects beat her until she fell to the ground, according to police.
The woman's keys were still in her car's ignition when a male subject got in it and shouted to the female subjects that they should take the vehicle, authorities said. The victim got up and tried to grab the keys through the driver-side window of her sedan.
The male suspect then "struck her forcefully, possibly with a blunt object," police officials said, knocking the victim down and causing a major facial injury.
The victim, who had been lying on the ground when a witness initially reported the incident in a 911 call, was taken by ambulance to a hospital and is expected to fully recover, according to police. No update on her condition was available Saturday.
After the male subject struck the victim, the suspects drove off. Some left in the victim's sedan and others in the car in which they arrived.
Patrol officers searching the area spotted the stolen car driving nearby with suspects still inside. When officers tried to make an enforcement stop, the driver, a 17-year-old male, fled in the vehicle, officials said.
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The driver crashed the car into a tree several blocks away. He suffered serious injuries and was taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment. As of Friday morning, he remained hospitalized in serious condition, police officials said. No update was available Saturday.
A 15-year-old girl in the same car, described as one of the perpetrators, was treated at a hospital for minor injuries before being booked into the Ventura County Juvenile Justice Center on suspicion of carjacking, attempted robbery and conspiracy offenses.
The two teens apprehended in the stolen vehicle were Oxnard residents, authorities said.
Cmdr. Sam Arroyo said Saturday it wasn't immediately clear whether the teen driver had crashed the stolen car during an active pursuit. The agency's report said officers had initially pursued the vehicle but then lost sight of it before finding it had crashed into the tree, Arroyo said.
At least two suspects were outstanding as of Saturday. They were described as "young," officials said, possibly in their late teens or early 20s. The suspect vehicle was described as a black sedan or hatchback.
Anyone with information about the incident or the identities of the outstanding suspects is asked to call Ventura police at 805-650-8010.
This story will be updated when new information is available.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Violent carjacking in Ventura injures victim, suspect
