A driver hit four Westlake High School students near the Thousand Oaks campus Tuesday afternoon, fatally injuring one.
The Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Wesley Welling, 15, of Thousand Oaks.
Ventura County Sheriff’s officials described the incident as an intentional act and said the driver had been arrested on suspicion of homicide.
The driver, identified as 24-year-old Austin Eis, is suspected of being involved in two other incidents Tuesday, including a stabbing at a local Walmart, authorities said.
The crash was reported shortly before 3:40 p.m. near Lakeview Canyon Road and East Thousand Oaks Boulevard at a bus stop near the high school campus.
Three other students were injured: two girls, age 14 and 16, and a boy, 15. One was reported in critical condition and two suffered minor injuries, sheriff’s officials said.
After being cleared at a hospital, Eis was booked into Ventura County jail early Wednesday morning. The 24-year-old was booked on suspicion of charges including murder, attempted murder, burglary, drawing a gun in a threatening manner and attempted robbery, according to online booking information.
He was being held in jail in lieu of $5 million bail.
Community members were planning events to help the victims and their families and loved ones. Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village will host a prayer vigil Wednesday at 6 p.m.
“We invite everyone in the greater Conejo Valley to come together to join us in prayer,” leaders of the church on Via Rocas said in a message to members.
“It feels very close and very personal,” said Senior Pastor Shawn Thornton of the tragedy. “People are saying that easily could have been my child there.”
A GoFundMe campaign to raise funeral expenses for Welling exceeded $105,000 by 10 a.m. Wednesday.
The lead-up to the crash
Authorities believe Eis is linked to a stabbing and assault earlier in the day at a Walmart in Simi Valley and to a subsequent domestic dispute in Camarillo.
The series of crimes started around 2:40 p.m. when the suspect allegedly stabbed a store employee and assaulted a second worker at the Walmart at 255 W. Cochran St., according to the Simi Valley Police Department. The employee, who suffered at least one stab wound, was being treated at a trauma center.
Eis reportedly fled the Walmart in a white Toyota Camry with a missing bumper. Witnesses provided police with the license plate number. The Simi department sought help from the sheriff’s office and the California Highway Patrol as they searched for the car.
After leaving the Walmart, he reportedly fled to Camarillo, where he is suspected of being involved in a domestic dispute with family members, later described as his parents, officials said. No injuries were reported.
The Sheriff’s Office received a report of a disturbance at the house around 3 p.m., Cmdr. Garo Kuredjian said. Eis reportedly brandished a handgun at the home.
Eis subsequently went to Thousand Oaks, where the students were struck, police said. At the crash site, an overturned white car at the crash site had come to rest on its roof.
A city of residence for Eis wasn’t provided. Kuredjian described him as a Ventura County resident.
Mark McLaughlin, superintendent of the Conejo Valley Unified School District, sent a message about the traffic collision late Tuesday afternoon, which he said happened when a vehicle drove off the road and “struck a group of Westlake High School students who were walking on the sidewalk.”
“It is with a heavy heart that I write this message,” McLaughlin wrote, saying thoughts and prayers were with the students, their families and the Warrior community. In an update after the fatality was confirmed, McLaughlin said a team of counselors would be at Westlake High and other district campuses Wednesday.
Thousand Oaks Boulevard was closed from Via Merida to Westlake Boulevard as sheriff’s investigators worked the scene.
Around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, the scene had been eerily quiet along Thousand Oaks Boulevard as investigators worked inside an area cordoned off by police tape. The Camry rested upside down next to a bus stop, resting against the curb. Media crews were staged in the parking lot of a nearby business center.
Shortly before 9 p.m., mourners started gathering in front of the Westlake High School sign, which stands diagonally across the intersection from the accident site.
Some lit candles and brought flowers. After a few students and parents initially arrived, more than 100 people streamed down Lakeview Canyon Road to join the vigil. The large gathering stood in silence for a time, observing the line of glowing candles and flower bouquets.
On Wednesday, Christian Morales, a 14-year-old Westlake High freshman, said he was picked up from the intersection by a parent shortly after the collision.
“I was unsure of what happened,” Morales said. “I thought it was just an accident.”
He didn’t realize until after he left campus that his friend had been fatally injured.
“He was a very kind, smart person,” Morales said of Welling. “He was always looking out for others, putting people before him.
“He never caused any harm to anyone. He was always just calm, playful.”