– By F. Scott Faulkner
SANTA BARBARA, CA — March 10, 2026
A Santa Barbara man was arrested on March 5 after allegedly speeding through
residential streets, striking a parked vehicle, and then crashing into a tree while attempting to flee
pursuing Santa Barbara Police Department patrol officers.
According to SBPD spokesman Sgt. Bryan Kerr, the incident began around 9:30 p.m. when a
Santa Barbara police officer noticed “a black Lincoln Navigator traveling at a high rate of speed
without its headlights on” in the city’s Eastside neighborhood. At that point, the officer
attempted to conduct a traffic stop.
The driver continued to travel recklessly through several residential streets in the Eastside
neighborhood “and did not yield to the attempted traffic stop,” Kerr said.
During the pursuit, the SUV crashed into an unoccupied parked vehicle but kept going despite
the collision. Moments later, the vehicle struck a tree, bringing the brief flight to an end.
Several occupants inside the SUV immediately “fled the scene on foot” following the crash.
Officers quickly began searching the area while securing the crash site.
A short time later, the suspected driver, 22-year-old Santa Barbara resident Yahir Limon Avita, returned to the location
and surrendered to officers without further incident.
Avita was arrested on suspicion of felony evading and hit-and-run. He was booked into the Santa
Barbara County Jail, where bail was set at $75,000.
