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MyspaceA 41-year-old Goleta resident was killed after the car she was traveling in was hit by an alleged drunk driver, flipping several times on southbound Highway 101 near Fairview on Saturday.
California Highway Patrol officers say a white Mercedes - driven by 21-year-old resident of Hollister, California - was reportedly driving erratically and at a high rate of speed when it clipped a Volkswagen driving at about 65 miles per hour in the middle lane around 9:30 p.m.
The driver of the Volkswagen lost control of the car, which traveled off the right shoulder of the freeway, overturned a few times, and ultimately came to rest on its wheels.
The 21-year-old driver, as well as a 17-year-old male juvenile were taken to the hospital and treated for moderate injuries. The 41-year-old Rosario Silvestre died at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital from “blunt force trauma,” according to the collision report.
The 21-year-old, who is unlicensed to drive a car in California, allegedly fled the area and was found by officers several miles from the collision scene parked on the right shoulder of the highway. Officers found an open container of hard alcohol in the vehicle. The 21-year-old, who also is uninsured, allegedly failed field sobriety tests. He was arrested for felony driving under the influence, hit-and-run, and vehicular manslaughter and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail.
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Comments
Stories like this one happen too often in our cities. Our police department should have more control check points. Focus on keeping us safe instead of abusing homeless people...
summersb (anonymous profile)
March 9, 2009 at 12:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Come on man! REALLY! This story has nothing to do with homeless people. It says nothing about this guy driving from downtown. It says he is from Hollister and was on the 101. The last time I looked that's CHP jurisdiction not SBPD or the Sheriffs.
805RunningCrew (anonymous profile)
March 9, 2009 at 12:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
yes, let's stretch our resources further by having more checkpoints in santa barbara that will fundamentally be ineffective at preventing an accident like this because it occurred on the freeway (and not a local street) and was caused by someone from 250 miles away.
or, we could pick up the phone and report drunk drivers on the freeway and drive more defensively. can we stop relying on the government to solve all of our problems?
sbdude (anonymous profile)
March 9, 2009 at 1 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It seems like the Hit and Run portion of this incident was underplayed in the story. The drunk driver kept going and didn't stop until he got off at the 154 exit a few miles south. The CHP found him about 15 minutes after the accident. Since he was unlicensed and uninsured the odds are very high that he was also in the country illegally, which wouldn't be the first foreign national to kill a local resident while under the influence.
pope (Paul Costales)
March 9, 2009 at 2:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Something I don't get here: I was going northbound at about 11:20 and as I approached Patterson traffic was slowing almost to a halt while a tow truck zipped past the other drivers and myself on the shoulder almost at freeway speed. When I got somewhat past the Patterson turnoff, there where law enforcement and other vehicles and personnel standing around waving us through and I could see a damaged vehicle in the fast lane. From what I could see, southbound traffic was normal. Was this a separate accident?...otherwise, why the inconsistency between what was happening when I passed through the area and the report of it being northbound?
billclausen (anonymous profile)
March 9, 2009 at 2:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I saw the whole thing on Friday night - it was crazy. A few cars did call the police to report the drunk driver before the accident happened, so no need to chastise anyone for relying on the government. I'm amazed that anyone lived.
I think it's really interesting that all of the articles are saying the Mercedes driver was parked on the shoulder because I watched him get off on State/154 and the police log says he was at a shopping center.
Bill - there was a single car accident on Saturday night. Is that what you're thinking?
octosb (anonymous profile)
March 9, 2009 at 4:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
There were three people in the Volkswagon which was hit.The two in front both were wearing seatbelts and escaped serious injuries. The unfortunate passenger in the back was not belted in and was ejected from the vehicle.
I does not matter where the drunk driver was found--we should be just glad that he was. Another report I read shows he has a record in Hollister,CA area. It will all be revealed soon, I am sure.
bajamama (anonymous profile)
March 9, 2009 at 5:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Someone made a buck or two selling alcohol to a young driver. All the liqour stores and taverns pay taxes and pressure government officials. They pay slick lawyers and wrangle permits. Soo...good luck trying to stop the bloodbath on the highways. There's too much money being made. It's been that way a long time. Kudos to MADD though, and the SB Sheriff's Department - the road blocks save lives.
eyewitness (anonymous profile)
March 9, 2009 at 6:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
To follow up to what eyewitness said we live in a culture that is very anti-drugs and smoking yet somehow drinking alcohol is cool.
To answer octosb's question: All I saw was what looked like a red sedan, and there was so much activity around it I couldn't see any more.
billclausen (anonymous profile)
March 10, 2009 at 12:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)