FUNERAL IS TODAY FOR FAMILY KILLED IN CRASH OF VAN.

Byline: Angie Valencia-Martinez Staff Writer

A funeral is planned today for the seven family members, including five children, killed Monday in one of the worst-ever traffic collisions in Ventura County.

The service will begin at 10 a.m. at Crawford Mortuary in Northridge for Francisco Covarrubias, 35; his wife, Anna, 31; and their children, Marcos, 10, Xochitl, 9, and Sofia, 3 months; their niece, Paola Hernandez, 2; and nephew, Omar Hernandez, 1.

Meanwhile, California Highway Patrol said it might take months to complete the investigation into the chain-reaction crash at Hitch Boulevard and Los Angeles Avenue, although alcohol or drugs do not appear to have been a factor, officials said.

``There is no rush to complete it,'' California Highway Patrol Capt. Cliff Williams said. ``It doesn't mean that we sit back and don't give it the kind of attention it deserves for a quick product. We take our time so we do it right.''

Authorities said the minivan carrying the Covarrubias family was on Los Angeles, waiting to turn left onto Hitch, when it was rear-ended by a sedan driven by Ashley M. Ponce, 23, of Oxnard.

The impact pushed the minivan into oncoming traffic, where it was hit by a Ford E-150 driven by Eli Neiderhiser, 31, of Ojai, officials said. Neiderhiser remained hospitalized Thursday, but officials were not available to comment on his condition.

Ponce was released from St. John's Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo after treatment for moderate injuries, officials said.

Meanwhile, residents from the Moorpark Home Acres neighborhood where the Covarrubias family lived want officials to step in to prevent another tragedy along that stretch of highway.

Colleen Durston is organizing a community meeting with local and state transportation officials and a candlelight vigil for the week of Aug. 29, or as soon as the crash victims' family return from burying their loved ones in Mexico.

Neighbors are also urging transportation officials to widen the rural, two-lane highway from two lanes to four.

``It's a very dangerous road. Something needs to be done,'' said Durston.

A memorial fund has been set up for the Covarrubias family at Wells Fargo Bank. Contributions can be made to account number 7012066242.

Angie Valencia-Martinez, [phone]

angie.valencia(at)dailynews.com