Woman jogger killed by driver suspected of DUI

Crash occurred on Lindero in T.O.
By Sophia Fischer  sfischer@theacorn.com

A 46-year-old Agoura Hills woman is dead after a vehicle driven by a male suspected of being under the influence struck and killed her early Tuesday morning on Lindero Canyon Road near Bowfield Street.

 Nicholas LaGrotta, a 23-year-old Santa Rosa Valley resident, was driving his black Subaru Forester south on Lindero Canyon Road at 6:20 a.m. when he veered off the road and crashed through signs, utility boxes and vegetation. Karey Marsh was jogging in the bike lane when she was hit and was thrown about 30 feet into the brush, according to Det. Eric Buschow of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department.

LaGrotta, who was taken to Los Robles Hospital with three broken vertebrae and multiple abrasions, told authorities he didn't realize he had hit anyone.

"When deputies and the fire department arrived they weren't sure a pedestrian had been hit until they saw her shoes on the sidewalk," Buschow said.

Thermal cameras were used to locate the woman's body and chainsaws were needed to cut through the thick growth in order to extricate her. Marsh was pronounced dead at the scene.

The front end of LaGrotta's car was badly damaged. The former Oak Park student, who graduated from high school in 2004, is under arrest for vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence.

"It's just tragic and I'm sure his life is pretty much gone, too," said a school official who asked to remain anonymous. "He hasn't been a student who has come back to visit and check in with us."

Marsh, an Agoura Hills resident and personal trainer at the Spectrum health club, was single and had no children, according to Shasta Gainer of the Ventura County Medical Examiner's office. Nearby relatives were notified of her death.

The accident was discussed at the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council meeting Tuesday night.

"We should keep her in our thoughts," said Oak Park resident Derek Ross, who often saw Marsh during his morning runs.

A similar fatality in the same vicinity occurred in June 2007. An Agoura Hills man out for his regular morning walk along Lindero Canyon Road near Baronsgate Road was hit and killed by a Westlake Village motorist.

"It doesn't happen regularly but it does happen," said MAC Vice Chair Michael Paule. "We have to be reminded of the importance of traffic safety."