Tow Truck Driver Who Ran Down Mom And Kids Has A Record (Illegal Immigrant)

[Borderwatch]

http://www.kvta.com/content_page.php?pid=local_news

Tow Truck Driver Who Ran Down Mom And Kids Has A Record (Illegal Immigrant)
KVTA ^ |

http://www.kvta.com/content_page.php?pid=local_news

Oxnard Police have arrested the tow truck driver who ran down a mother and her two small children as they crossed a busy street Tuesday afternoon, dragging the children under the truck for a quarter mile before being stopped. 45-year-old Mehran Khamseh of Santa Barbara was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs. The incident happened shortly after noon at the intersection of Vineyard Avenue and Simon Way in Oxnard. Police say the tow truck driver, Khamseh, was making a left turn from westbound Simon Way to southbound Vineyard when he struck 19-year-old Alma Lopez who was pushing her 3-year-old daughter and one-year-old son in a stroller in the crosswalk eastbound across Vineyard. Both the tow truck driver and the pedestrians had green lights. Lopez was knocked to the ground, her children, still in what was left of the stroller, were pinned under the tow truck and dragged a quarter mile southbound on Vineyard.

It took witnesses and bystanders to chase the tow truck driver down and get him to stop the truck. Police say the children were rushed to the Ventura County Medical Center in critical condition. Lopez was also taken to VCMC with moderate injuries. Anyone with information that could help the investigation who has not talked to police about it are urged to call Senior Officer Maria Pena at (805) 385-7750. Khamseh is being held without bail because he is a parolee and because he is an illegal immigrant. According to Ventura County court records, he was convicted by a jury in 2008 of terrorist threats and having a prior petty theft conviction. He also had a couple of prior traffic violations.