ICE Agent Crashes Vehicle, Leaking Fluids into Drain Near Santa Barbara Jail

An ICE agent crashed an unmarked vehicle into an embankment near the entrance of the Santa Barbara County Jail on Friday morning, in an incident that prompted a large response from community defense groups and local public agencies as the damaged vehicle leaked fluids into a nearby drain and blocked half of the roadway for nearly two hours.

Volunteers from SBResiste were among the first to document the incident, which began when a convoy of four ICE vehicles was seen near the Main Jail around 7:30 a.m Friday. 

Chelsea Lancaster, a community organizer who patrols the community daily for immigration enforcement, said the ICE agents were seen attempting to pursue a man who had just been released from the jail. In the pursuit, the man reportedly fell from a fence and badly injured his leg. Lancaster and multiple witnesses said the man was taken to the hospital.

Another volunteer observer, Osiris Castañeda, says that ICE agents have been seen near the county jails more regularly in the past few weeks, often attempting to make arrests just outside of the jail, near County Road and Calle Real. At the same spot, just over two weeks ago on March 10, Castañeda said he was pepper-sprayed by an ICE agent who reportedly tackled and beat another man, who was later sent to the hospital to be treated for injuries to his face and mouth.

In the incident on March 27, witnesses said the convoy of ICE vehicles left the area after the man injured his leg. Volunteers followed the ICE agents on Highway 101 toward Carpinteria, and eventually the ICE vehicles returned to the area near the jail.

At around 8:20 a.m., witnesses described the unmarked gray Ford Escape driving fast and attempting to make a quick turn into the entrance of the jail. Volunteers said the Ford Escape skidded and crashed into the dirt embankment. The vehicle got stuck in the dirt, and multiple agents had to manually pull the car back into the street.

The disabled vehicle began to leak fluid, which flowed into a drain just a few feet away, according to witnesses at the scene. 

By the time reporters arrived at the scene, multiple local agencies arrived to provide assistance and clear the roadway. Workers with the Public Works Department had poured absorbent materials on the spill to prevent any more fluid from entering the drain, and California Highway Patrol Officers took down information for an incident report

Santa Barbara County Fire and medical response provided emergency assistance, while Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputies directed traffic. When asked for information about the incident, sheriff’s deputies told the Independent “We’re here to keep the peace.”

Four ICE vehicles and multiple agents were at the scene. These included two unmarked gray Ford Escapes, one black Nissan Pathfinder, and one white Jeep Grand Cherokee. ICE agents did not provide information to people at the scene, but could be seen sitting in the three undamaged vehicles behind heavily tinted glass. None of the ICE vehicles had license plates, but one of the masked agents was seen wearing a vest marked HSI (Homeland Security Investigations).

The alleged driver of the disabled SUV was seen sitting inside one of the other ICE vehicles. He did not exit the vehicle, and spoke to local law enforcement through a cracked window before departing the scene around 10:30 a.m. as a tow truck arrived to clear the road.

Lancaster said she was concerned that the ICE agent was not ever checked for possible signs of intoxication. She said the vehicle was driving aggressively before the crash and called on local law enforcement to perform a sobriety check or breathalyzer test.

ICE agents did not respond to questions at the scene. ICE did not immediately respond to questions about the incident, and the agency does not comment on daily operations.

Castañeda said he wanted to make it clear that volunteers with SBResiste “did not obstruct or do anything illegal” in documenting and observing the activity of ICE agents in Santa Barbara. “We’ve got somebody filming and live-streaming the entire time we’ve been here because all they do is lie,” he said.

There were no other incidents at the scene. About 10 local law enforcement officers were on hand, along with an ambulance, fire truck, and several CHP and Sheriff’s cruisers. About a dozen legal observers documented the scene, which died down after the disabled vehicle was loaded onto a Smitty’s Towing truck around 10:30 a.m. The tow truck and one of the other ICE vehicles was seen less than 15 minutes later near the side of the road on Highway 101.

Ana Garcia, an organizer with SBResiste who livestreamed the incident on social media, said that she was grateful that nobody was reported to be arrested in all the chaos on Friday morning. She pointed out how many public agencies had to respond to the scene, and asked for people to consider how much these types of incidents cost the city and county taxpayers.

Sheriff’s spokesperson Raquel Zick was on hand at the scene, but could not provide details into the incident. She said the Sheriff’s Office became aware of the incident when employees saw vehicles blocking the entrance to the jail. CHP handled the incident report and arranged for the tow truck, but the agency could not provide further information.

“Basically, we just stood by while we cleared our driveway,” Zick said. “That’s the extent of our involvement.”

Zick later published a press release sharing info about the earlier incident that led to the man being injured. According to her statement, a man who said he was with ICE told the Sheriff’s Office that the agents were attempting to apprehend an individual who “fled on foot and jumped a fence along the east side of the jail perimeter” that morning.

Sheriff’s deputies located the man hiding between storage containers nearby. The man was injured and transported to the hospital with “non-life threatening injuries.” Zick said he was cited for trespassing.

“Deputies were requested to assist with keeping the peace while ICE arranged to have their disabled vehicle towed,” Zick said. “Deputies provided traffic control to assist the tow truck with accessing the vehicle and clearing the roadway. The vehicle was towed without further incident.”

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