Woman, 23, Killed in Crosswalk at Mission Street Freeway On-Ramp; Driver Arrested
Police say the white Mercedes that struck the pedestrian Friday night had fled an attempted traffic stop on West Carrillo Street minutes earlier. The victim's name has not been released.
A 23-year-old woman was struck and killed in the crosswalk at the northbound Highway 101 on-ramp at Mission Street late Friday night, and a 45-year-old woman was arrested within hours in connection with the hit-and-run, Santa Barbara police and the California Highway Patrol said.
Emergency crews were dispatched around 10:10 p.m. Friday after a vehicle struck the pedestrian in the crosswalk at the on-ramp. Santa Barbara City Fire Battalion Chief Cory Cloud said firefighters found the woman down in the roadway, not breathing and without a pulse. She was taken by AMR ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, where she was declared dead. Her name had not been released as of Saturday afternoon, pending notification of relatives.
About a minute before the crash, a Santa Barbara police officer tried to pull over a vehicle being driven recklessly on the 300 block of West Carrillo Street, according to SBPD Lt. Antonio Montojo. The driver fled at high speed onto Highway 101, and the officer discontinued the stop. "Due to the dangerous manner in which the vehicle was being operated, the officer elected not to pursue and discontinued the attempted traffic stop," Montojo said.
The same officer was flagged down on Mission Street a few minutes later, where the pedestrian had been hit in the crosswalk. "Officers determined the vehicle involved in the hit and run collision was the same vehicle that had fled from the officer during the earlier attempted traffic stop," Montojo said.
The CHP identified the suspect as Leticia Parra De Gastelum, 45. The suspect vehicle, a white Mercedes-Benz C43, was found parked in Santa Barbara at the suspect's address, according to CHP Officer Jonathan Gutierrez.
The crash shut down both Mission Street freeway off-ramps for nine hours, along with the northbound on-ramp and part of Mission Street between the highway and Castillo Street. Roughly a dozen Santa Barbara police and CHP units worked the scene, and the roadways reopened shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday. The CHP has taken over the investigation and is looking into whether alcohol or drugs were contributing factors, Gutierrez said.
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