Local education advocate killed in SUV crash on Highway 23
Richard Ballagh recalled as wonderful father, great husband
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

A HAPPIER TIME- Richard Ballagh, left, of Simi Valley died Saturday after a traffic accident on Highway 23 near Olsen Road. His wife, Nan, right, was injured but is expected to fully recover. Ballagh was one of the founding members of the Simi Education Foundation.

Richard Ballagh, 62, died after his 2002 Mitsubishi Montero SUV crashed at about 4 p.m. Saturday on the 23 Freeway near Olsen Road in Thousand Oaks.

His wife, Nan, 63, who was in the vehicle's passenger seat, suffered critical injuries.

Both were taken by ambulance to Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center. Ballagh had a weak pulse, but died on the way, said his daughter, Susan BallaghPeters. Her mother was expected to fully recover physically, she said.

According to a police report, Ballagh was driving north on the 23 Freeway and for unknown reasons left the roadway and hit a construction sign in the median, then continued northwest until crashing into the divider wall.

The car overturned onto the southbound lanes of the 23.

Ballagh-Peters said her mother doesn't remember much about the accident and was very traumatized.

She doesn't recall seeing anything on the road or whether it was raining at the time. The couple had just shopped for shelves for their family room at OSH on Avenida de Los Arboles in Thousand Oaks and were on their way back home about 10 miles away in Simi Valley.

"My mom is a only 5 feet tall, and slender. She got out of the car on her own and was sitting beside it after the accident," BallaghPeters said. "My father is 5 feet 10 inches tall and was stuck inside."

She said the vehicle was upside down and the caved-in roof caused her father's chin to cut off his air passageway.

The Ventura County Medical Examiner's report said Ballagh died from asphyxiation.

Ballagh-Peters, an only child, said her dad was a wonderful father and a great husband who didn't judge others. He was in very good health.

As a human resource director for Curtiss Wright, he spent a lot of time driving, she said. He had also worked for Micom Communications, a maker of computernetworking devices formerly based in Simi.

"He and mom always eat healthy, are active walkers and hikers," Ballagh-Peters said. "He didn't take any prescriptions."

A member of the Moorpark Tennis Club, Ballagh and his wife also spent a lot of time at the racquetball club, Ballagh-Peters said.

"He was a great brother and he has always been there for me," his sibling Jim Ballagh of Virginia Beach, Va. said.

"I never thought this would happen to him. I thought he would be with us for a long time," Ballagh-Peters said. Her father enjoyed volunteering in the community and donated his time to organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club of Simi Valley.

John Lindsey of Simi Valley said Ballagh "was a valued member of the Education Foundation and one of the original founding members. I'm sorry for the loss of Dick and sorry for his family."

Lindsey had worked with Ballagh at the foundation.