Moorpark school driver suspected of DUI, IDs given in 2 fatal motorcycle crashes, more

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2 days ago

A Moorpark Unified School District driver was arrested May 28 on suspicion of DUI after a parent reported the smell of alcohol on him.
The parent called the school district around 8:50 a.m., and school officials, in turn, called law enforcement, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.
School officials said in a letter to parents that the district's transportation dispatch workers told the driver to pull over and sent a backup van and driver. The five students in the van were moved into the arriving van and taken to their destination, according to the district.
"Parents of the students in the van were contacted shortly after police concluded their investigation at the scene," Superintendent Kelli Hays said in her letter.
Sheriff's deputies arrived and arrested the 39-year-old Moorpark man. He was later booked into Ventura County jail but has since been released on bail, jail records show.
He is scheduled to appear in Ventura County Superior Court July 29, according to jail records.
Authorities identified two men who died in separate motorcycle crashes in East Ventura County just days apart from each other.
Matthew K. Estrada Jr., 27, was from Thousand Oaks, according to the Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office.
He was riding his motorcycle in Thousand Oaks near the intersection of Erbes Road and Tubbs Street around 10:20 p.m. on May 25 when he drove off the roadway and crashed into a light pole, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office previously reported.
He was transported to Los Robles Regional Medical Center where he later died to blunt force head injuries he sustained in the crash, officials said.
Jacob D. Ruiz, 25, was from Simi Valley, the medical examiner's office said. He was riding his motorcycle near the 2000 block of Royal Avenue in Simi Valley on May 23 around 3:20 p.m. when he lost control of his bike due to speed and crashed, the Simi Valley Police Department said previously.
Medical personnel performed life-saving measures at the scene. He was transported to Los Robles where he succumbed to multiple blunt force injuries sustained in the crash, authorities said.
The wrestling community at Royal High School in Simi Valley mourned Ruiz's death on the social media site Instagram.
"Dear friends, our wrestling family has suffered a horrible loss," the post says. "Jacob Ruiz, brother of Coach (Edward) Ruiz, was in a motorcycle accident and did not survive."
A Simi Valley man was charged May 27 for allegedly selling a gun to a minor who later used the weapon to commit suicide, authorities said.
The Ventura County District Attorney's Office charged the 18-year-old with three felonies, including unlawful transfer of a firearm, child endangerment and transfer of a firearm to a minor, according to Ventura County Superior Court records. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The charges came after a Ventura County Sheriff's Office investigation into the suicide of a minor in Thousand Oaks in January alleged that the Simi Valley man had sold the weapon to the minor, according to the sheriff's office.
Deputies arrived to a report of a suicidal subject and found the juvenile suffering from a single gunshot wound. He was transported to Los Robles Regional Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead, sheriff's officials said.
The agency investigated the death and found evidence tying the Simi Valley man to the firearm sold to the minor, authorities said. He was arrested May 23 in Thousand Oaks, but has since been released on his own recognizance.
The man is scheduled to return to Ventura County Superior Court June 3, jail records show.
If you're feeling despondent, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, for both English and Spanish speakers, can be reached by calling 988 or visiting online https://988lifeline.org.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Moorpark school driver arrested, 2 motorcyclists ID'd, more