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Condition of 6-year-old Santa Paula boy improving

July 19, 2000
Santa Paula News
The condition of a young Santa Paula boy critically injured when he dashed into the street and into the path of an oncoming pickup truck has been upgraded after he underwent surgery the night of the accident. Ivan Blancarte, 6, was struck by a pickup truck on Ojai Road/Highway 150 on Wednesday, July 5 just before 5 p.m.Ivan had been walking with his mother, 26-year-old Maria Rivas, to a neighborhood market when, for an unknown reason, he ran into the street in the area of the 300 block of Ojai Road/Highway 150. Highway 150 is a busy artery that feeds vehicles to and from Ojai; Ivan was struck during the time the highway is busy with commuter traffic.The boy ran into the path of a northbound 1992 Ford Ranger pickup truck driven by Carlos Jimenez, 54 of Ventura.Jimenez, who was traveling at or below the posted speed limit of 25 mph, was not cited and it is not expected that any charges will be filed in the mishap.Ivan received major head injuries in the accident and was treated on the scene before being transferred to Santa Paula Memorial Hospital and then airlifted by helicopter to Santa Barbara's Cottage Hospital.
He underwent surgery shortly after arriving at Cottage Hospital - which specializes in treating children and trauma cases - but remained in critical condition.Ivan's condition has steadily improved since he underwent surgery and his condition has been upgraded to fair, but how long he will remain hospitalized is unknown at this time.