Deputy’s Cruiser Broadsides Car in Moorpark; 3 Hurt

MOORPARK — A sheriff’s deputy investigating a report of gunshots and two elderly residents were hospitalized Friday after the deputy broadsided their car at an intersection near Moorpark College, authorities said.

Gloria Lopez of Moorpark lost a thumb in the crash and was undergoing surgery at Simi Valley Hospital late Friday, authorities said. The other two received minor injuries.

Senior Deputy Debbie DeMattia was heading west on Campus Park Drive at Julliard Avenue about 3 p.m. when she hit a car driven by Pete Rivera, 69, of Moorpark, Deputy Jeff Hill said.

Rivera, headed east on Campus Park, was turning left onto Julliard Avenue in front of the cruiser, which struck his car on the passenger side, Hill said.

Damage to both cars was extensive, and Rivera’s passenger, Lopez, was thrown from the car.

Those who live near the intersection say the accident was unlike anything they had ever seen.

“It was a direct T-bone,” said Dennis Goar, 60, who lives on Marymount Street. “The impact was so great that my neighbor’s daughter, who was hanging some pictures, fell off the stool.”

Bruce Hampton, who lives two houses from the intersection on Julliard Avenue, heard the collision and went out to help.

“It was quite a horrendous crash,” said Hampton, 51.

The patrol car was facing east in the westbound lanes, and Rivera’s car was facing south on Julliard Avenue.

Hampton found Lopez on the ground, and was horrified to see her left thumb had been ripped from her hand.

“It was lying right next to her,” Hampton said. Hampton said he applied a cloth to Lopez’s hand to stop the bleeding, and then covered her with a blanket from his house.

Next he checked on DeMattia, a member of the department’s K9 unit, who was pinned behind the wheel of her car.

“She seemed OK. She seemed dazed,” Hampton said. “Her air bag had been deployed and deflated.”

DeMattia was not able to render aid to the others, Hampton said. “But she had enough sense to ask where she was. Then she radioed for help,” he said.

Hampton stayed at the scene until paramedics arrived.

The speed limit on Campus Park Drive is 45 mph. Hill said it was not known how fast DeMattia was traveling at the time of the crash.

“But at this time we have no reason to believe she was speeding,” he said.

DeMattia and her German shepherd, Blitz, placed second in the box-search competition during police canine trials in Redondo Beach in May.

Hill said Blitz, the department’s oldest dog and DeMattia’s partner for more than two years, was shaken up in the crash, but did not appear to be injured.

DeMattia and Rivera both suffered minor injuries and were taken by ambulance to Columbia Los Robles Hospital.

Both were evaluated in the emergency room and later released, a hospital spokeswoman said. Ages for Lopez and DeMattia were unavailable.

The California Highway Patrol was assisting in the investigation of the crash.