Woman Safe After Driving Off Freeway Overpass

A Moorpark woman drove her convertible off a Moorpark Freeway overpass Thursday and crashed onto Thousand Oaks Boulevard almost 50 feet below--and, miraculously, survived without serious injury, officials said.

After being treated for minor injuries, Donna Killins, 36, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, said Officer Dave Cockrill, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol’s Ventura office.

Killins lost control of her Mercedes 450 SL about 11 a.m. as she changed lanes traveling southbound on the rain-slick Moorpark Freeway, Cockrill said. “She lost control due to excessive speed and the slick roadway conditions,” he said.

Killins’ car went through the center divider, flew off the overpass and landed on all four wheels in the eastbound lanes of Thousand Oaks Boulevard, he said. The car bounced and rolled onto its side before coming to a stop, Cockrill said, adding: “She was very lucky.”

Witnesses estimated that Killins was traveling between 75 and 80 mph, Cockrill said.

Killins was taken to Columbia Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks, where doctors examined her for possible internal injuries and damage to her spinal cord.

She was released at 2:45 p.m. with only minor bruises and abrasions, said Kris Carroway, a spokeswoman for the hospital.

“She’s just a miracle woman,” Carroway said. “She’ll probably be sore for a couple of days but other than that she’s all right.”

After being released, Killins, an actress also known as Darcy Wersch, was arrested by CHP officers on suspicion of driving under the influence. Cockrill said blood tests were still being analyzed, but officers made the arrest based on how she was driving and her reactions at the scene.