Three residents die in car crash

Three Moorpark residents were killed last weekend when their car crashed into an Oxnard auto parts store.

A Ford Taurus driven by 37-year-old Celestino Hernandez Lara hit the Oxnard building in the 1000 block of E. Fifth St. at about 2:20 a.m. Sunday.

Hernandez-Lara and his two passengers, Irma ApostolReyes, 30, and Alejandrino de la Cruz-Matas, 41, died at the scene.

According to reports, the driver and front-seat passenger wore seat belts, but the backseat passenger did not.

"It's possible that the driver fell asleep at the wheel," said Maria Peña, traffic investigator for the Oxnard Police Department.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation, but Peña said no drugs or alcohol were found in the vehicle.

De la Cruz-Matas turned 41 on April 26, Peña said, and the trio may have been celebrating his birthday.

It took time for police to identify the individuals because they had no identification with them, but authorities eventually located the brother of the driver, who identified all the victims, according to Peña.

- Sylvie Belmond