The two 16-year-old boys who were seriously injured in a singlecar accident in the early morning hours of Oct. 12 are still in hospitals recovering from their injuries.

The passenger, who was reported to be in grave condition, is at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara and is improving, Senior Dep. Shawn Holzberger said. He is being treated for a head injury.

The driver of the car is in critical condition at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica. He suffered broken bones that included his pelvis, femur and other leg bones, said Senior Dep. Rick Godfrey.

The boys were injured when, according to a police report, the driver lost control of a silver 2005 Honda SUV at about 1:15 a.m. and hit a tree in the 300 block of Avenida de Los Arboles, west of Odebolt Drive.

“The car was going 70 miles per hour when it hit the tree sideways,” Godfrey said.

The driver’s side struck the tree, he said.

The driver and his male passenger were trapped inside the vehicle until Ventura County Fire Department personnel arrived and freed them.

“It was a pretty horrific scene,” Holzberger said.

A 15-year-old female passenger had minor injuries. She and the driver were wearing seat belts. The male passenger wasn’t wearing a seat belt, Godfrey said. The deputy also said the air bags deployed, but since the collision wasn’t headon, the air bags weren’t helpful in preventing injuries.

After the accident, the three teenagers were rushed by ambulance to Los Robles Hospital.

Godfrey said neither alcohol nor drugs were factors in the crash.

––Nancy Needham