Motorcycle Racer Arrested After Fatal Crash
Santa Barbara – Santa Barbara’s picturesque Foothill Road, an idyllic two-lane thoroughfare from where the glistening Pacific can often be seen in the distance, became the scene of a horrific, bloody nightmare in the early afternoon of March 2nd when two local men met their deaths in a grisly accident.
Francisco Alex Rodriguez
According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff spokesman Sgt. Mike McGrew, the driver of a westbound SUV observed a motorcycle approaching from the opposite direction and “go by at a high rate of speed.” Proceeding westbound, the driver of the SUV, as McGrew detailed in his report to the media, “saw two more motorcyclists advancing down the road,” one of which had crossed the double-yellow line and was going the wrong way in the SUV’s lane. That motorcycle directly impacted the front left fender of the SUV; it’s driver, Raul Ibarra, 24, was critically injured. The third motorcycle then careened out of control, and its driver, Jonathan Leon, 24, sustained serious injuries.
The lead motorcycle in the trio returned to the accident scene, and apparently seeing that his friends were not going to be continuing their recreational race, promptly fled the scene well before emergency personnel appeared on the scene. “He stood at the embankment and called out to the now deceased motorcyclist. He didn’t get a response and got back on his bike and fled the scene,” SBPD Investigator Jaycee Hunter said in her statement to the media.
Both Ibarra and Leon were transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, where Ibarra succumbed to his injuries; Leon remains hospitalized and is expected to survive.
Scene of Fatal Crash
Pursuant to the SUV driver’s witness report of a third biker who fled the scene, an investigation soon led Detectives to identify that rider as Francisco Alex Rodriguez, 23. A warrant was quickly issued for his arrest, and deputies reported to Rodriguez’s Santa Barbara residence where—following a brief attempt at evasion by fleeing on foot—he was taken into custody.
Rodriguez was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of vehicular manslaughter, felony hit-and-run, engaging in a speed contest causing injury, and driving without a valid license. He remains in custody with bail set at $100,000.
Photos: Courtesy KYET-TV, Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
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Interceder: Motorcycle Crash
Noozhawk: Man Arrested in Fatal Motorcycle-Racing Crash on Foothill
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