Authorities arrest wrong-way driver without incident

By ERIC LINDBERG — Nov. 19, 2009

Local authorities averted potential tragedy by stopping traffic and arresting a 37-year-old woman suspected of speeding along Highway 101 in the wrong direction while intoxicated late Tuesday evening.

The suspected drunken driver, identified as Nora Angelica Reyes, of Santa Barbara, reportedly drove north in southbound lanes for roughly five miles before swerving into a ditch near Evans Avenue in Summerland a short distance from a traffic break set up by law enforcement, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The incident marks the third time authorities have dealt with a wrong-way driver along the local stretch of highway in less than two months, a fact that isn’t lost on CHP officials.

“We are painfully aware of how many we’ve had in such a short period of time,” said Officer Jim Richards, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara CHP office. “The fact that we were able to stop this one before a tragedy occurred is fantastic. But it’s amazing that we did.”

He said traffic breaks set up by CHP officers and sheriff’s deputies were critical in slowing and stopping southbound traffic, although a number of vehicles did encounter the wrong-way driver, including a bus with 27 passengers.

“Each and every one of those people were spared,” Richards said, adding that the entire incident lasted roughly five minutes.

“We were there within two minutes and the sheriff’s department was there in a couple of minutes as well,” he said. “We pretty much have to be right on top of these things if we’re going to mitigate them.”

At 11:26 p.m., dispatchers alerted officers that a wrong-way driver had been seen in the Carpinteria area. Officers heading south near North Padaro Lane with their emergency lights and sirens engaged spotted headlights approaching from the opposite direction in the fast lane minutes later.

Officers flashed a spotlight back and forth in an attempt to stop the vehicle, but the driver continued past in a black Ford Explorer at approximately 70 mph, according to a CHP incident report.

As officers turned around and headed north in an attempt to drive parallel with the Ford in northbound lanes, Santa Barbara sheriff’s deputies started running a traffic break to alert southbound motorists.

“The deputies observed the Ford approach from the opposite direction, in the center divider, at approximately 25 to 30 mph,” according to the incident report. “The Ford swerved directly toward the deputies, who took evasive action and were able to avoid a traffic collision.”

A deputy that managed to drive parallel to the wrong-way vehicle while in northbound lanes reported that the Ford was traveling at speeds higher than 80 mph in the fast lane as it entered the Summerland area.

Having stopped southbound traffic near Sheffield Drive, authorities watched as the Ford suddenly veered to the left and came to a stop in a ditch along the shoulder just south of the Evans Avenue onramp.

After approaching the vehicle and speaking with Reyes, CHP officials said officers noticed obvious signs of intoxication and arrested the 37-year-old on suspicion of DUI.

“When questioned, she admitted drinking alcohol at a friend’s house in Carpinteria earlier in the evening and was on her way home to Santa Barbara,” according to the incident report.

Authorities ultimately booked her on suspicion of reckless driving while evading officers, wrong-way driving, and driving under the influence of alcohol.

Richards said authorities are looking into any factors that might have played a role in the recent spate of wrong-way driving, but said no official link has been established between the incidents. He noted that no apparent engineering changes have been made to the highway in the Santa Barbara area that might prompt motorists to enter the incorrect highway ramps.

“We feel very fortunate that we were able to stop this one from continuing and clearly prevent any further loss of life,” Richards said.

The two previous incidents ended in head-on collisions between wrong-way drivers and other motorists on the highway that left three people dead.

On September 23, a pickup truck traveling south in northbound lanes collided with a minivan and four other vehicles near El Sueno Road, killing the driver of the minivan and injuring several other people.

The driver of the wrong-way vehicle, identified by CHP officials as William Mark Selander, a 49-year-old Ventura resident, was hospitalized with minor injuries. He has yet to be charged with any crimes.

Authorities have remained tight-lipped about the investigation into what caused Selander to travel on the highway in the wrong direction, although CHP officials alluded to the possibility that a medical condition played a role in the incident.

Richards said yesterday that the investigation is nearly complete and should be handed over to the district attorney’s office, which will determine if any charges should be filed against Selander.

“This really is about how long these things take,” Richards said, addressing complaints received by CHP officials about the length of the inquiry. “We had a lot of investigating to do on that accident. We just wanted to make sure we made that report as accurate as possible.”

A week and a half ago, authorities handled a second wrong-way crash involving a 20-year-old man suspected of driving while intoxicated. CHP officials said Richard Lawrence Rodriguez, of Tustin, traveled north in southbound lanes before crashing head-on into a vehicle — killing two people and seriously injuring two other occupants.

The collision occurred near Glen Annie and Storke roads at 1:20 a.m. on November 8. Rodriguez, who sustained minor injuries in the crash, faces charges of vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol.

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: 11/19/2009

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Drunk Drivers : 11/20/2009

POS and scum of the earth. They should be shot at the roadside! Obviously, the law will never fully deal with them as everyone (lawyers, police, judges and politicians) all do it themselves.

Butt Head

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my heart goes out the families : 11/24/2009

you will be dearly missed raul...marcos and macrina...you all where the greates people ever in this earth...god always takes the best of the best...

goleta resident

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Please : 11/25/2009

Are you kidding me, these scum bags have not been charged yet! What are the police waiting for, do the job you are hired for an put these killers in jail.

SB resident

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what : 12/9/2009

THEN Y DIDT STOP THE VERIZON TRUCK TO THAT 8 MILES THAT POLICE COULD STOP IT

FRIEND OF RAUL

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