A driver reportedly hit several Westlake High School students near the Thousand Oaks campus Tuesday afternoon, fatally injuring one.
Ventura County Sheriff’s officials investigating the incident said they were still trying to determine whether the collision was accidental or an intentional act.
The crash was reported shortly before 3:40 p.m. near Lakeview Canyon Road and East Thousand Oaks Boulevard, said sheriff’s Capt. Greg Gibson.
One student, a 15-year-old boy, had died, Gibson said Tuesday evening. About four or five students were hit.
Authorities believe the incident is linked to a stabbing earlier in the day at a Walmart in Simi Valley, according to the Simi Valley Police Department. A suspect allegedly stabbed a store employee around 2:40 p.m. at the 255 W. Cochran St. location. The employee, who suffered at least one stab wound, was being treated at a trauma center.
The suspect fled in a white Toyota Camry with a missing bumper. Witnesses had 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.
Simi officials were later informed by the sheriff’s office about the Lakeview Canyon Road collision and were told the vehicle involved was the one sought in the Walmart stabbing, police officials said. The suspect was apprehended at the collision scene.
No arrests had been made as of 6:40 p.m., Gibson said, and the driver was technically not in custody. The incident remained under active investigation.
At the Lakeview Canyon Road site, an overturned white car at the crash site had come to rest on its roof, photos from the scene showed.
Mark McLaughlin, superintendent of the Conejo Valley Unified School District, sent a message about the traffic collision, which he said happened around 3:15 p.m. 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.
Thousand Oaks Boulevard was closed from Via Merida to Westlake Boulevard.
Two of the agency’s public information officers were headed to the scene, with more information expected later.