A 49-year-old Fillmore man was killed in a car accident early Saturday morning in an unincorporated part of Ventura County near Piru.
James William Lacotts was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:15 a.m. An autopsy will be performed tomorrow.
A second occupant, an unidentified 19-year-old male, was transported to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Santa Clarita for moderate injuries, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP is still investigating who was driving the vehicle, which crashed into a cement bridge retaining wall on Pacific Avenue, north of State Route 126. The vehicle veered off the roadway for unknown reasons and entered a drainage ditch before the collision.
It appears that neither occupant was wearing a safety belt and alcohol may have played a factor in the collision, according to the CHP.
Last month Lacotts was cited for driving under the influence and was scheduled to appear in Ventura County Superior Court next week on the matter. In addition to the DUI citation, he had five driving infractions on his record, for speeding, failure to obey signs, talking on his cell phone while driving and two for not wearing a seat belt.
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