3 arrested for DUI after Ventura County firefighter significantly injured when struck by a car
Three people were arrested for alleged DUI and an on-duty firefighter with the Ventura County Fire Department suffered significant injuries after they were hit by a car in Simi Valley early Sunday morning, authorities said.
According to the department, the firefighter was struck at about 3 a.m. while working at the scene of an unrelated traffic collision that took place in the area of State Route 118 and the Tapo Canyon Road on-ramp.
In a separate news release, California Highway Patrol investigators said that while investigating the crash, a car drove through the flare pattern and into the investigation scene where it struck the firefighter. The driver, 30-year-old Saratoga resident Nikhil Goel, was arrested for felony DUI of alcohol causing injury.
The firefighter, who remains unidentified publicly, was transported to a local hospital with significant injuries. The exact injuries were not disclosed.
California Highway Patrol investigators said that the initial crash, which happened just before 2:25 a.m., was caused by an alleged wrong-way driver who was driving eastbound in the westbound lanes of SR-118.
Officers said the wrong-way driver, behind the wheel of a 2023 Ford Bronco Sport, crashed head-on with a black 2024 Honda CR-V.
"The driver of the Honda was uninjured," CHP officers said. "Following a DUI investigation, Eashaw Sarkar, 24, of Shakopee, Minnesota, was arrested for driving under the influence ... and for driving the wrong way on a freeway."
Sarkar was hospitalized with minor injuries, police said.
According to CHP's release, a second driver also drove through the flare pattern while VCFD crews and officers were on scene. That driver, 64-year-old Simi Valley man Darryl Jones, was also arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Police said that all three of the drivers were booked at the Ventura County Pre-Detention Facility.
The firefighter's condition was still unknown as of Sunday night. CHP officers said that the road was closed for nearly four hours as their investigation was ongoing.
