L.A. Firefighter Dies in 1-Car Crash

A Santa Barbara man was killed early Wednesday after his car flipped over on the Ventura Freeway near Mussel Shoals north of Ventura, California Highway Patrol officials said.

Brian Paul Banthin, 43, was northbound in his 1994 Toyota when he apparently lost control, drifted into the center divider and flipped his vehicle, CHP Officer Dave Webb said.

Banthin was ejected from the car, but there were no witnesses to the accident, Webb said. His body was discovered about 2:45 a.m., and he was declared dead at the scene by paramedics.

Authorities said no one else was in the car with Banthin, who was a Los Angeles firefighter. An autopsy found that Banthin died of blunt force injuries, a Ventura County coroner’s spokesman said. Toxicology reports are pending.