Man Charged with Murder in Hit-and-Run Accident

A second degree murder charge has been filed against Lanie Tyrone Richardson in connection with last week’s hit-and-run incident, which took place early Wednesday morning on East Valley Road between Montecito and Summerland, and left one woman dead and another critically injured.

Richardson, 28, was described in initial press reports as one of two “good Samaritans” who picked the women off the road and drove them to Cottage Hospital. But the California Highway Patrol contends that the two victims — Allison J. Meadows, 26, who was killed, and Lindsay Keebler, 25, who is in critical condition — were passengers in Richardson’s car.

Details surrounding the accident have been notably murky, giving rise to the suggestion the two women might have been injured while “car surfing.” CHP spokesperson Javier Garcia declined to confirm such accounts, stating only that in his initial statement Richardson was trying to “cover his tracks.”

Richardson, also charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, has three previous DUIs and was reportedly driving on a suspended license. Said DA Joyce Dudley of the decision to file a murder charge: “[It] is based upon an allegation that the actions of the defendant showed a conscious disregard for human life.” Richardson is being held on $500,000 bail, and his arraignment is scheduled for June 20.

Meadows, a Santa Barbara resident originally from Paso Robles, was an employee at Issels Cancer Treatment Center in Santa Barbara; according to posts on Facebook, a vigil was held last Thursday night in Paso Robles to honor her memory. Keebler works for Latitude 34˚ Technologies in Goleta.