Calabasas collision claims life





Crosses and flowers mark the spot where a 61-year-old Temple City man died after a collision on Las Virgenes Road in the early morning of Aug. 18.

Enrique Gutierrez was driving a pickup truck on his way to a construction site. Gutierrez’s son was following close behind him in another vehicle and stopped to check on his father.

“I happened to walk up right when his son walked up to the truck,” said Traffic Sgt. Philip Brooks of the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station. “He looked in to see his dad and was like, ‘Oh, God.’ It was very traumatic.”

Because the crash, which occurred at about 7 a.m. 200 yards north of the A.E. Wright Middle School entrance, is still under investigation, full details have not been disclosed. But Brooks said the driver of an Audi, a Calabasas resident heading north, crossed over into the southbound lane. Gutierrez had little time to react.

“The truck skidded for a very short distance,” Brooks said. “He must have not seen it (the Audi) until the last second or half second.” Gutierrez died at the scene.

Brooks said the driver of the Audi may have been speeding, and authorities are still awaiting results from his blood alcohol test. The man was hospitalized with a broken arm and other injuries, but was released after a couple of days, according to Brooks.

A stretch of Las Virgenes Road was closed until almost noon on the day of the crash.

-Joann Groff


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