Westlake Village, Calif. -- In a split second three people were injured Tuesday when the driver of a Toyota Corolla ran a crosswalk and slammed into a woman and child walking home after an afternoon stroll.
Thousand Oaks deputies identified the driver as 60-year-old Linda Ellsworth of Newbury Park. Ellsworth was driving a Toyota Carolla when the car hit 49-year-old Argelia Rojas and 2-year-old Mitchell Ito, both of Westlake Village. Rojas was listed in critical condition. The child escaped with minor injuries, deputies said.
Eyewitnesses said the Carolla blew through the crosswalk at Westlake Boulevard and Devonshire Avenue about 2:40 p.m. and hit the pair. There was a very long skid mark in the roadway where the Carolla came to a rest.
The impact was so violent that Ellsworth was seriously injured when the body of the Rojas hit the Carolla front windshield.
This reporter stopped by the accident scene and was told by several eyewitnesses the driver blew through the crosswalk. It appeared the driver did not notice the victims were trying to make their way across the busy boulevard.
There was no traffic light at the crosswalk and it was unclear where the crosswalk attendant was at the time of the accident. The accident scene was about 100 yards from Westlake Elementary School.
